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GIBRALTAR 


DR.    FIELD'S    BOOKS    OF    TRAVEL. 


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GIBRALTAR 


BY 


Henry  M.  Field 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW    YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1893 


Copyright,  j888.  bv 
HENRY    M.  FIELD 


21^0  £B.n  fftitr(t}  antr  IVfcifipor 

IN  THE  BEKKSHIKE  HILLS, 

JOSEPH    H.    CHOATE, 

"WHO   FINDS  IT  A   BELIEF  NOW  AND  THEN 

TO  TURN  FROM  THE  HARD  LABORS  OF  THE   LAW 

TO  THE   ROMANCE   OF  TRAVEL  : 

I    SEND  AS   A   CHRISTMAS    PRESENT 

A  STORY  OF    FORTRESS  AND    SIEGE 

THAT   MAY   BEGUILE   A  VACANT  HOUR 

AS  HE   SITS  BEFORE  HIS  WINTER  EVENING  FIRE. 


iVil50e63 


PEEFACE. 


The  common  tour  in  Spain  does  not  include  Gibraltar. 
Indeed  it  is  not  a  part  of  Spain,  for,  though  connected 
with  the  Spanish  Peninsula,  it  belongs  to  England ;  and 
to  one  who  likes  to  preserve  a  unity  in  his  memories  of  a 
country  and  people,  this  modern  fortress,  with  its  English 
garrison,  is  not  "  in  color  "  with  the  old  picturesque  king- 
dom of  the  Goths  and  Moors.  JSTor  is  it  on  the  great 
lines  of  travel.  It  is  not  touched  by  any  railroad,  and  by 
steamers  only  at  intervals  of  days,  so  that  it  has  come  to 
be  known  as  a  place  which  it  is  at  once  difficult  to  get  to 
and  to  get  away  from.  Hence  easy-going  travellers,  who 
are  content  to  take  circular  tickets  and  follow  fixed  routes, 
give  Gibraltar  the  go-by,  though  by  so  doing  they  miss 
a  place  that  is  unique  in  the  world — unique  in  position, 
in  picturesqueness,  and  in  history.  That  mighty  Rock, 
"  standing  out  of  the  water  and  in  the  water,"  (as  on  the 
day  when  the  old  world  perished  ;)  is  one  of  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules,  that  once  marked  the  very  end  of  the  world ; 
and  around  its  base  ancient  and  modern  history  flow  to- 
gether, as  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  mingle  with  those 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

of  the  Mediterranean.  Like  Constantinople,  it  is  throned 
on  two  seas  and  two  continents.  As  Europe  at  its  south- 
eastern corner  stands  face  to  face  with  Asia ;  at  its  south- 
western it  isface  to  face  with  Africa:  and  these  were  the 
two  points  of  the  Moslem  invasion.  But  liere  the  nat- 
ural course  of  history  was  reversed,  as  tliat  invasion  be- 
gan in  the  West.  Hundreds  of  years  before  the  Turk 
crossed  the  Bosphorus,  the  Moor  crossed  the  Straits  of 
Gibraltar.  His  coming  was  the  signal  of  an  endless  war 
of  races  and  religions,  whose  lurid  flames  lighted  up  the 
dark  background  of  the  stormy  coast.  The  Rock,  which 
was  the  "  storm-centre "  of  all  those  clouds  of  war,  is 
surely  worth  the  attention  of  the  passing  traveller.  That 
it  has  been  so  long  neglected,  is  the  sufiicient  reason 
for  an  attempt  to  make  it  better  known. 


CONTEISTTS. 


PAGE 

I.  Entering  the  Straits, 1 

II.  Climbing  the  Rock,       .......  13 

III.  The  Fortifications, 18 

IV.  Round  the  Town, 29 

V.  Parade  on  the  Alameda,  and  Presentation  of  Colors 

TO  the  South  Staffordshire  Regiment,  .        .        .     35 

VI.  The  Society  op  Gibraltar, 48 

VII.  A  Chapter  op  History — The  Great  Siege,  .        .  .63 

VIII.  Holding  a  Fortress  in  a  Foreign  Country,  .        .  110 
IX.  Farewell  to  Gibraltar— Leaving  for  Africa,   .  .  128 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIOlN"S. 


The  Ai;Ameda  Parade, Frontis'piece. 

FACING   PAGK 

The  Lion  Couchant, 4 

General  View  op  the  Rock, 12 

The  Signal  Station, 14 

The  New  Mole  and  Rosia  Bay, 19 

The  Saluting  Battery, 27 

Walk  in  the  Alameda  Gardens, 62 

Catalan  Bay,  on  the  East  Side  of  Gibraltar,    .        .        .65 

Plan  op  Gibraltar, 71 

"Old  Eliott,"  the  Defender  op  Gibraltar,  .  .  .  108 
Windmill  Hill  and  O'Hara's  Tower,  .  .  .  .  ,  132 
EuROPA  Point, 143 


CHAPTER  I. 

ENTERING  THE   STRAITS. 

"T  HEAED  the  last  gun  of  the  Old  Year  fired  from  the 
-^  top  of  the  Rock,  and  the  first  gun  of  the  New.  It 
was  the  very  last  day  of  1886  that  we  entered  the  Straits 
of  Gibraltar.  The  sea  was  smooth,  the  sky  was  clear,  and 
the  atmosphere  so  warm  and  bright  that  it  seemed  as  if 
winter  had  changed  places  with  summer,  and  that  in  De- 
cember we  were  breathing  the  air  of  June. 

On  a  day  like  this,  when  the  sea  is  calm  and  still, 
groups  of  travellers  sit  about  on  the  deck,  watching  the 
shores  on  either  hand.  How  near  they  come  to  each 
other,  only  nine  miles  dividing  the  most  southern  point 
of  Europe  from  the  most  northern  point  of  Africa !  Per- 
haps they  once  came  together,  forming  a  mountain  chain 
which  separated  the  sea  from  the  ocean.  But  since  the 
barrier  was  burst,  the  waters  have  rushed  through  with 
resistless  power.  Looking  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  we 
observe  that  the  current  is  setting  eastward,  which  would 
not  excite  surprise  were  it  not  that  it  never  turns  back. 
The  Mediterranean  is  a  tideless  sea :  it  does  not  ebb  and 
flow,  but  pours  its  mighty  volume  ceaselessly  in  the  same 


2  GIBRALTAR. 

direction.  This,  the  geographers  tell  us,  is  a  provision  of 
nature  to  supply  the  waste  caused  by  the  gi'eater  evapora- 
tion at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Great  Sea.  But  this  satis- 
fies us  only  in  part,  since  while  this  current  flows  on  the 
surface,  there  is  another,  though  perhaps  a  feebler,  cur- 
rent flowing  in  the  opposite  direction.  Down  hundreds 
of  fathoms  deep,  a  hidden  Gulf  Stream  is  pouring  back 
into  the  bosom  of  the  ocean.  This  system  of  the  ocean 
currents  is  one  of  the  mysteries  which  we  do  not  fully 
understand.  It  seems  as  if  there  were  a  spirit  moving 
not  only  upon  the  wafers,  but  in  the  waters;  as  if  the 
great  deep  were  a  living  organism,  of  which  the  ebb  and 
flow  were  like  the  circulation  of  the  blood  in  the  human 
frame.  Or  shall  we  say  that  this  upper  current  represents 
the  Stream  of  Life,  which  might  seem  to  be  over-full 
were  it  not  that  far  down  in  the  depths  the  excess  of  Life 
is  relieved  by  the  black  waters  of  Death  that  are  flowing 
darkly  beneath  ? 

Turning  from  the  sea  to  the  shore,  on  our  left  is  Tarifa, 
the  most  southei'u  point  of  Spain  and  of  Europe — a  point 
far  more  picturesque  than  the  low,  wooded  spit  of  land 
that  forms  the  most  southern  point  of  Asia,  which  the 
"globe-trotter"  rounds  as  he  comes  into  the  harbor  of 
Singapore,  for  here  the  headland  that  juts  into  the  sea  is 
crowned  by  a  Moorish  castle,  on  the  ramparts  of  which, 
in  the  good  old  times  of  the  Barbary  pirates,  sentinels 
kept  watch  of  ships  that  should  attempt  to  pass  the 
Straits  from  either  direction :  for  incomers  and  outo;oers 


ENTEEING    THE    STRAITS.  6 

alike  Lad  to  lower  their  flags,  and  pay  tribute  to  those  who 
counted  themselves  the  rightful  lords  of  this  whole  wa- 
tery realm.  I  wonder  that  the  Free-Traders  do  not  ring 
the  changes  on  the  fact  that  the  very  word  tariff  is  derived 
from  tliis  ancient  stronghold,  at  which  the  mariners  of  the 
Middle  Ages  paid  "  duties  "  to  the  robbers  of  the  sea.  If 
both  sides  of  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar  were  to-day,  as  they 
once  were,  under  the  control  of  the  same  Moslem  power, 
we  might  have  two  castles — one  in  Europe  and  one  in 
Africa — like  the  "  Castles  of  Europe  and  Asia,"  that  still 
guard  the  Dardanelles,  at  which  all  ships  of  commerce  are 
required  to  stop  and  report  before  they  can  pass ;  while 
ships-of-war  carrying  too  many  guns,  cannot  pass  at  all 
without  special  permission  from  Constantinople. 

But  the  days  of  the  sea-robbers  are  ended,  and  the 
Mediterranean  is  free  to  all  the  commerce  of  the  world 
The  Castle  of  Tarifa  is  still  kept  up,  and  makes  a  pictu' 
resque  object  on  the  Spanish  coast,  but  no  corsair  watches 
the  approach  of  the  distant  sail,  and  no  gun  checks  her 
speed  ;  every  ship — English,  French,  or  Spanish — passes 
unmolested  on  her  way  between  these  peaceful  shores. 
Instead  of  the  mutual  hatred  which  once  existed  between 
the  two  sides  of  the  Straits,  they  are  in  friendly  inter- 
course, and  to-day,  under  these  smiling  skies,  Spain  looks 
love  to  Barbary,  and  Barbary  to  Spain. 

While  thus  turning  our  eyes  landward  and  seaward,  we 
have  been  rounding  into  a  bay,  and  coming  in  sight  of  a 
mighty  rock  that  looms  up  grandly  before  us.     Although 


4  GIBRALTAR. 

it  was  but  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  the  winter  snn 
hung  low,  and  striking  across  the  bay  outlined  against  the 
sky  the  figure  of  a  lion  couchant — a  true  British  lion,  not 
unlike  those  in  Trafalgar  Square  in  London,  only  that  the 
bronze  is  changed  to  stone,  and  the  figure  carved  out  of  a 
mountain !  But  the  lion  is  there,  with  his  kingly  head 
turned  toward  Spain,  as  if  in  defiance  of  his  former  mas- 
ter, every  feature  bearing  the  character  of  leonine  majesty 
and  power.     That  is  Gibraltar  ! 

It  is  a  common  saying  that  "  some  men  achieve  great- 
ness, and  some  have  greatness  thrust  upon  them."  The 
same  may  be  said  of  places  ;  but  here  is  one  to  which  both 
descriptions  may  be  applied — that  has  had  greatness 
thrust  upon  it  by  nature,  and  has  achieved  it  in  history. 
There  is  not  a  more  picturesque  spot  in  Europe.  The  Rock 
is  fourteen  hundred  feet  high — more  than  three  times  as 
high  as  Edinburgh  Castle,  and  not,  like  that,  firm-set  up- 
on the  solid  ground,  but  rising  out  of  the  seas — and  girdled 
with  the  strongest  fortifications  in  the  world.  Such  great- 
ness has  nature  thrust  upon  Gibraltar.  And  few  places 
have  seen  more  history,  as  few  have  been  fought  over 
more  times  than  this  in  the  long  wars  of  the  Spaniard  and 
the  Moor ;  for  here  the  Moor  first  set  foot  in  Europe,  and 
gave  name  to  the  place  (Gibraltar  being  merely  Gebel-el- 
Tarik,  the  mountain  of  Tarik,  the  Moorish  invader),  and 
here  departed  from  it,  after  a  conflict  of  nearly  eight  hun- 
dred years. 

The  steamer  anchors  in  the  bay,  half  a  mile  from  shore, 


ENTERING    THE    STRAITS.  O 

and  a  boat  takes  us  off  to  the  quay,  where  after  being  duly 
registered  by  tlie  police,  we  are  permitted  to  pass  under 
the  massive  arches,  and  through  the  heavy  gates  of  the 
double  line  of  fortifications,  and  enter  Waterport  Street, 
the  one  and  almost  only  street  of  Gibraltar,  where  we  find 
quarters  in  that  most  comfortable  refuge  of  the  traveller, 
the  Royal  Hotel,  which,  for  the  period  of  our  stay,  is  to 
be  our  home. 

When  I  stepped  on  shore  I  was  among  strangers :  even 
the  friend  who  had  been  my  companion  through  Spain 
had  remained  in  Cadiz,  since  in  coming  under  the  English 
flag  I  had  no  longer  need  of  a  Spanish  interpreter,  and  I 
felt  a  little  lonely  ;  for  inside  these  walls  there  was  not  a 
human  being,  man  or  woman,  whom  I  had  ever  seen  be- 
fore. Yet  one  who  has  been  knocked  about  the  world  as  I 
have  been,  soon  makes  himself  at  home,  and  in  an  hour  I 
had  found,  if  not  a  familiar  face,  at  least  a  familiar  name, 
which  gave  me  a  right  to  claim  acquaintance.  Readers 
whose  memories  run  back  thirty  years  to  the  laying  of 
the  first  Atlantic  Cable  in  1858,  may  recall  the  fact  that 
the  messages  from  Newfoundland  were  signed  by  an 
operator  who  bore  the  singular  name  of  De  Saut}-,  and 
when  the  pulse  of  the  old  sea-cord  grew  faint  and  flut- 
tering, as  if  it  were  muttering  incoherent  phrases  before  it 
drew  its  last  breath,  we  were  accustomed  to  receive  daily 
messages  signed  "All  right :  De  Sauty  !  "  which  kept  up 
our  courage  for  a  time,  until  we  found  that  "  All  right" 
was    "All   wrono;."      The   circumstance    afforded   much 


6  GIBRALTAR. 

amusement  at  the  time,  and  Dr.  Holmes  wrote  one  of  his 
wittiest  poems  about  it,  in  which  the  refrain  of  every  verse 
was  "  All  right :  De  Sauty !  "  Well,  the  message  was  true, 
at  least  in  one  sense,  for  De  Sauty  was  all  right,  if  the 
cable  was  not.  The  cable  died,  but  the  stout-hearted 
operator  lived,  and  is  at  this  moment  the  manager  of  the 
Eastern  Telegraph  Company  in  Gibraltar.  This  is  one 
of  those  great  English  companies,  which  have  their  centre 
in  London,  and  whose  "lines  have"  literally  "gone  out 
through  all  the  earth."  Its  "  home  field"  is  the  Mediterra- 
nean, from  which  it  reaches  out  long  arms  down  the  Red 
Sea  to  India  and  Australia,  and  indeed  to  all  the  Eastern 
world.  Its  General  Manager  is  Sir  James  Anderson,  who 
commanded  the  Great  Eastern  when  she  laid  the  cable  suc- 
cessfully in  1866.  I  had  crossed  the  ocean  with  him  in '67, 
and  now,  wishing  to  do  me  a  good  turn,  he  had  insisted  on 
my  taking  a  letter  to  all  their  offices  on  both  sides  of  the 
Mediterranean,  to  transmit  my  messages  free!  This  was 
a  pretty  big  license;  his  letter  was  almost  like  one  of 
Paul's  epistles  "  to  the  twelve  tribes  scattered  abroad, 
greeting."  It  contained  a  sort  of  general  direction  to 
make  myself  at  home  in  all  creation  ! 

AVith  such  an  introduction  I  felt  at  home  in  the  tele- 
graph office  in  Gibraltar,  and  especially  when  I  could  take 
by  the  hand  our  old  friend  De  Sauty.  He  has  a  hearty 
grip,  which  speaks  for  the  true  Englishman  that  he  is.  If 
any  of  my  countrymen  had  supposed  that  he  died  with  the 
cable,  I  am  happy  to  say  that  he  not  only  "  still   lives," 


ENTERING    THE    STEAITS.  7 

but  is  very  much  alive.  He  at  once  sent  off  to  London  a 
message  to  my  friends  in  America — a  good-bye  for  the 
old  year,  which  brought  me  the  next  morning  a  greeting 
for  the  new. 

From  the  telegraph  office  I  took  my  way  to  that  of  the 
American  Consul,  who  gave  me  a  welcome  such  as  I  could 
find  in  no  other  house  in  Gibraltar,  since  his  is  the  only 
American  family  !  When  I  asked  after  my  countrymen 
(who,  as  they  are  going  up  and  down  in  the  earth,  and 
show  themselves  everywhei-e,  I  took  for  granted  must  be 
here),  he  answered  that  there  was  "  not  one !  "  He  is  not 
only  the  official  representative  of  our  country,  but  he  and 
his  children  the  only  Americans.  This  being  so,  it  is  a 
happy  circumstance  that  the  Great  Republic  is  so  well 
represented ;  for  a  better  man  than  Horatio  J.  Sprague 
could  not  be  found  in  the  two  hemispheres.  He  is  the 
oldest  Consul  in  the  service,  having  been  forty  years  at 
this  post,  where  his  father,  who  was  appointed  by  Gen- 
eral Jackson,  was  Consul  before  him.  He  received  his  ap- 
pointment from  President  Polk.  Through  all  these  years 
he  has  maintained  the  honor  of  the  American  name,  and 
to-day  there  is  not  within  the  walls  of  Gibraltar  a  man — 
soldier  or  civilian — who  is  more  respected  than  this  soli- 
tary representative  of  our  country. 

Some  may  think  there  is  not  much  need  of  a  Consul 
where  there  are  no  Americans,  and  yet  nearly  five  hundred 
ships  sailed  from  this  port  last  year  for  America :  pity 
that  he  should  have  to  confess  that  very  few  bore  the 


8  GIBRALTAll. 

American  flag!  Thus  the  post  is  a  responsible  one,  and  at 
times  involves  duties  the  most  delicate  and  difficult,  as  in 
the  late  war,  when  the  Sumter  was  lying  here,  with  three 
or  four  American  ships  off  the  harbor  (for  the}'  were  not 
permitted  to  remain  in  port  but  twenty-four  hours)  to  pre- 
vent her  escape.  At  that  time  the  Consul  was  constantly 
on  the  watch,  only  to  see  the  privateer  get  off  at  last  by 
the  transparent  device  of  taking  out  her  guns,  and  being 
sold  to  an  English  owner,  who  immediately  hoisted  the 
English  flag,  and  put  to  sea  in  broad  daylight  in  the  face 
of  our  ships,  and  made  her  way  to  Liverpool,  where  she 
was  fitted  out  as  a  blockade-runner  ! 

Those  were  trying  days  for  expatriated  Americans. 
However,  it  was  all  made  up  when  Peace  came,  and  Peace 
with  Victory — with  the  Union  restored  and  the  country 
saved.  Since  then  it  has  been  the  privilege  of  the  Consul 
at  Gibraltar  to  welcome  many  who  took  part  in  the  great 
strui'-orle,  amons;  them  Generals  Grant  and  Sherman  and 
Admiral  Farragut.  Of  course  a  soldier  is  always  interested 
in  a  fortress,  for  it  is  in  the  line  of  his  profession ;  and  the 
greatest  fortification  in  the  world  could  but  be  regarded 
with  a  curious  eye  by  old  soldiers  like  those  who  had  led 
our  armies  for  four  years ;  who  had  conducted  great  cam- 
paigns, with  long  marches  and  battles  and  sieges — battles 
among  the  bloodiest  of  modern  times,  and  one  siege  (that 
of  Richmond)  which  lasted  as  long  as  the  famous  siege  of 
Gibraltar. 

But  perhaps  no  one  felt  a  keener  interest  in  what  he 


ENTERING    THE    STRAITS.  9 

saw  here  than  the  old  sea-dog,  who  had  bombarded  the 
forts  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  six  days  and  nights ; 
had  broken  the  heavy  iron  boom  stretched  across  the 
river;  and  rim  his  ships  past  the  forts  under  a  tremen- 
dous fire ;  only  to  find  still  before  him  a  fleet  greater  than 
his  own,  of  twenty  armed  steamers,  four  ironclad  rams, 
and  a  multitude  of  fire-rafts,  all  of  which  he  attacked 
and  destroyed,  and  captured  'New  Orleans,  an  achieve- 
ment in  naval  warfare  as  great  as  any  ever  wrought  by 
]S[elson.  To  Farragut  Gibraltar  was  nothing  more  than 
a  big  ship,  whose  decks  were  ramparts.  Pretty  long 
decks  they  were,  to  be  sure,  but  only  furnishing  so 
many  more  port-holes,  and  carrying  so  many  more  guns, 
and  enabling  its  commander  to  fire  a  more  tremendous 
broadside. 

Talking  over  these  things  fired  my  patriotic  breast  till 
I  began  to  feel  as  if  I  were  in  "  mine  ain  countrie,"  and 
among  my  American  kinsmen.  And  as  I  walked  from 
the  Consul's  back  to  the  Royal  Hotel,  I  did  not  feel  quite 
so  lonely  in  Gibraltar  as  I  felt  an  hour  before. 

As  the  afternoon  wore  away,  the  Spaniards  who  had 
come  in  from  the  country  to  market,  to  buy  or  sell,  began 
to  disappear,  and  soon  went  hurrying  out,  while  the  be- 
lated townsmen  came  hurrying  in.  At  half-past  five  the 
evening  gun  from  the  top  of  the  Rock  boomed  over  land 
and  sea,  and  with  a  few  minutes'  grace  for  the  last  strag- 
gler, the  gates  of  the  double  line  of  fortifications  were 
closed  for  the  night,  and  there  was  no  more  going  out  or 


10  GIBRALTAK. 

coming  in  till  morning.  It  gave  me  a  little  uncomfortable 
feeling  to  be  thus  imprisoned  in  a  fortress,  with  no  possi- 
bility of  escape.  The  bustling  streets  soon  subsided  into 
quietness.  At  half-past  nine  another  gun  was  the  signal 
for  the  soldiers  to  return  to  their  barracks ;  and  soon  the 
town  was  as  tranquil  as  a  New  England  village.  As  I 
stepped  out  upon  the  balcony,  the  stillness  seemed  almost 
unnatural.  I  heard  no  cry  of  "  All's  well  "  from  the  sen- 
tinel pacing  the  ramparts,  as  from  sailors  on  the  deck,  nor 
the  "  Ave  Maria  santissiraa  "  of  the  Spanish  watchman. 
Not  even  the  howling  of  a  dog  broke  the  stillness  of  the 
night.  The  moon,  but  in  her  second  quarter,  did  not  shut 
out  the  light  of  stars,  which  were  shining  brightly  on 
Rock  and  Bay.  Even  the  heavy  black  guns  looked  peace- 
ful in  the  soft  and  tender  light.  It  was  the  last  night  of 
the  year — and  therefore  a  holy  night,  as  it  was  to  be 
marked  by  a  Holy  Nativity — the  birth  of  a  New  Year,  a 
"  holy  child,"  as  it  would  come  from  the  hands  of  God 
unstained  by  sin.  A  little  before  midnight  I  fell  asleep, 
from  which  I  started  up  at  the  sound  of  the  morning  gun. 
The  Old  Year  was  dead !  He  had  been  a  long  time  dy- 
ino-,  but  there  is  always  a  shock  when  the  end  comes. 
And  yet  in  that  same  midnight  a  new  star  appeared  in  the 
East,  bringing  fresh  hope  to  the  poor  old  world.  Life 
and  death  are  not  divided.  The  very  instant  that  the  old 
year  died,  the  new  year  was  born  ;  and  soon  the  dawn 
came  "  blushing  o'er  the  world,"  as  if  such  a  thing  as 
death  were  unknown.     The  bugles  sounded  the  morning 


ENTEEING    THE    STEAITS. 


11 


call,  as  they  had  sounded  for  the  night's  repose.  Scarcely 
had  we  caught  the  last  echoes,  that,  growing  fainter  and 
fainter,  seemed  to  be  wailing  for  the  dying  year,  before 
a  piercing  blast  announced  his  successor.  The  King  is 
dead  !     Lons  live  the  King ! 


Mooiish    Castle. 


CHAPTER    11. 

CLIMBING    THE    ROCK. 

TT  was  a  bright  Kew-Year's  morning,  that  first  day  of 
1887,  and  how  could  we  begin  the  year  better  than  by 
climbing  to  the  top  of  the  Rock  to  get  the  outlook  over 
land  and  sea  ?  The  ascent  is  not  difficult,  for  though  the 
Rock  is  steep  as  well  as  high,  a  zigzag  path  winds  up  its 
side,  which  to  a  good  pedestrian  is  only  a  bracing  walk, 
while  a  lady  can  mount  a  little  donkey  and  be  carried  to 
the  very  top.  If  you  have  to  go  slowly,  so  much  the  bet- 
ter, for  you  will  be  glad  to  linger  by  the  way.  As  you 
mount  higher  and  higher,  the  view  spreads  out  wider  and 
wider.  Below,  the  bay  is  placid  ^s  an  inland  lake,  on 
which  ships  of  war  are  riding  at  anchor,  "  resting  on  their 
shadows,"  while  vessels  that  have  brought  supplies  for  the 
garrison  are  unlading  at  the  New  Mole.  Nor  is  the  side 
of  the  Rock  itself  wanting  in  beauty.  Gibraltar  is  not  a 
barren  cliff ;  its  very  crags  are  mantled  with  vegetation, 
and  wild  flowers  spring  up  almost  as  in  Palestine.  Those 
who  have  made  a  study  of  its  flora  tell  us  that  it  has  no 
less  than  five  hundred  species  of  flowering  plants  and 
ferns,  of  which  but  one-tenth  have  been  brought  from 


<^- iBEE^ae^s... 


1 


GENEF 


\/IEW  OF  THE  ROCK. 


CLIMBING    THE    KOCK.  13 

abroad ;  all  the  rest  are  native.  The  sunshine  of  Africa 
rests  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks ;  in  every  sheltered  spot  the 
vine  and  fig-tree  flourish,  and  the  almond-tree  and  the 
myrtle  ;  you  inhale  the  fragrance  of  the  locust  and  the 
orange  blossoms ;  while  the  clematis  hangs  out  its  white 
tassels,  and  the  red  geranium  lights  up  the  cold  gray 
stone  with  rich  masses  of  color. 

Thus  loitering  by  the  way,  you  come  at  last  to  the  top 
of  the  Rock,  where  a  scene  bursts  upon  you  hardly  to  be 
found  elsewhere  in  the  world,  since  you  are  literally  pin- 
nacled in  air,  with  a  horizon  that  takes  in  two  seas  and 
two  continents.  You  are  standing  on  the  very  top  of  one 
of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  the  ancient  Calpe,  and  in  full 
view  of  the  other,  on  the  African  coast,  where,  above  the 
present  town  of  Ceuta,  whose  white  walls  glisten  in  the 
sun,  rises  the  ancient  Abyla,  the  Mount  of  God.  These 
are  the  two  Pillars  which  to  the  ancient  navigators  set 
bounds  to  the  habitable  world. 

On  this  point  is  the  Signal  Station,  from  which  a  con- 
stant watch  is  kept  for  ships  entering  the  Straits.  There 
was  a  tradition  that  it  had  been  an  ancient  watch-tower  of 
the  Carthaginians,  from  which  (as  from  Monte  Pellegrino, 
that  overlooks  the  harbor  of  Palermo)  they  had  watched 
the  Roman  ships.  But  later  historians  think  it  played 
no  great  part  in  history  or  in  war  until  the  Rock  served 
as  a  stepping-stone  to  the  Moors  in  their  invasion  and  con- 
quest of  Spain.  When  the  Spaniards  retook  it,  they  gave 
this  peak  the  name  of  "El  Ilacho,"  The  Torch,  because 


14  GIBRALTAK. 

here  beacon-fires  were  lighted  to  give  warning  in  time  of 
danger,  A  little  house  furnishes  a  shelter  for  the  officer  on 
duty,  who  from  its  flat  roof,  with  his  field-glass,  sweeps  the 
whole  horizon,  north  and  south,  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  in 
Spain,  to  the  long  chain  of  the  Atlas  Mountains  in  Africa. 
Looking  down,  the  Mediterranean  is  at  your  feet.  There 
go  the  ships,  with  boats  from  either  shore  which  dip 
their  long  lateen-sails  as  sea-gulls  dip  their  wings,  and 
sometimes  fly  over  the  waves  as  a  bird  flies  through 
the  air,  even  while  large  ships  labor  against  the  wind. 
As  the  current  from  the  Atlantic  flows  steadily  into 
the  Mediterranean,  if  perchance  the  wind  should  blow 
from  the  same  quarter,  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  get  out 
of  the  Straits.  Ships  that  have  made  the  whole  course 
of  the  Mediterranean  are  baflled  here  in  the  throat  of  the 
sea.  Before  the  days  of  steam,  mariners  were  subject 
to  delays  of  weeks,  an  experience  which  was  more  pictu- 
resque than  pleasant.  Thirty  years  ago  a  friend  of  mine 
made  a  voyage  from  Boston  to  Smyrna  in  the  Henry  Hill, 
a  sliip  which  often  took  out  missionaries  to  the  East,  and 
now  had  on  board  a  mixed  cargo  of  missionaries  and  rum  ! 
Whether  it  was  a  punishment  for  the  latter,  on  her  return 
she  had  head  winds  all  the  way  ;  but  in  spite  of  them  was 
able  to  make  a  slow  progress  by  tacking  from  shore  to 
shore,  for  which,  however,  she  had  less  room  as  she  came 
into  the  Straits,  through  which,  as  through  a  funnel,  both 
wind  and  current  set  at  times  with  such  force  as  in  this 
case  detained  the  Jjostonian Jive  taeeks  /     "The  captain," 


CLIMBING    THE    ROCK.  15 

says  my  informant,  "  was  a  pretty  good-natured  man,  but 
as  he  was  a  joint-owner  of  the  ship,  this  long  detention 
was  very  trying.  But  to  me  " — it  is  a  lady  who  writes — 
"  it  was  quite  the  reverse.  I  found  it  delightful  to  tack 
over  to  the  side  of  Gibraltar  every  morning,  and  drift 
back  every  evening  to  the  shores  of  Africa,  with  the  little 
excitement  from  the  risk  of  being  boarded  by  pirates  in 
the  night !  I  never  tired  of  the  brilliant  sunsets,  the  gor- 
geous clouds,  with  the  snow-capped  mountains  of  Granada 
for  a  background.  But  for  the  captain  (even  with  mission- 
aries on  board,  who  were  returning  to  America)  the  head 
winds  were  too  much  for  his  temper,  and  after  vainly  striv- 
ing day  after  day  to  get  through  the  Straits,  he  would  take 
off  his  cap,  scratch  his  head,  and  shake  his  fists  at  the  clouds ! 

"  After  tacking  for  three  weeks  off  Gibraltar,  wearing 
out  our  cordage  and  exhausting  our  larder,  we  put  into  the 
bay  and  anchored.  Here  we  were  surrounded  by  vessels 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  were  so  near  the  town  that 
we  could  almost  exchange  greetings  with  those  on  shore. 
One  Sunday  the  Spaniards  had  a  bull-fight  just  across  the 
Neutral  Ground ;  but  I  preferred  a  quiet  New  England 
Sabbath  on  shipboard. 

"  After  lying  at  anchor  in  the  bay  for  two  weeks  I  went 
on  shore  one  day  to  lunch  with  an  American  lady.  Re- 
turning to  the  ship  in  the  evening,  I  betook  myself  to  my 
berth.  At  midnight  I  heard  unusual  sounds,  clanking  of 
chains,  and  sailors  singing  '  Heave  ho  ! '  From  my  port- 
hole I  could  see  an  unusual  stir,  and  dressing  in  haste  went 


16  GIBRALTAE. 

on  deck.  Sure  enough  the  wind  had  changed,  and  all  the 
vessels  in  the  bay  were  alive  with  excitement.  The  cap- 
tain was  radiant.  I  could  see  his  beaming  face,  for  it  was 
clear  and  beautiful  as  moonlight  could  make  it.  He  in- 
vited me  to  stay  on  deck,  sent  for  a  cup  of  coffee,  and 
made  himself  very  agreeable.  "We  were  soon  under  way.  I 
was  in  a  kind  of  ecstasy  with  the  novelty  and  the  beauty 
of  it  all.  The  full  moon,  the  grand  scenery,  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules,  solemn  in  the  moonlight,  and  the  added 
charm  of  six  hundred  vessels,  from  large  to  small  craft, 
all  in  full  sail,  made  a  rare  picture.  I  sat  on  deck  till 
morning,  and  certainly  never  saw  a  more  beautiful  sight 
than  that  fleet  spreading  its  wings  like  a  flock  of  mighty 
sea-birds,  and  moving  off  together  from  the  Mediterra- 
nean into  the  Atlantic." 

Such  picturesque  scenes  are  not  so  likely  to  be  wit- 
nessed now  ;  for  since  the  introduction  of  steam  the  plain 
and  prosaic,  but  very  useful,  "tug"  tows  off  the  wind- 
bound  bark  through  the  dreaded  Straits  into  the  open 
sea,  where  she  can  spread  her  wings  and  fly  across  the 
wide  expanse  of  the  ocean. 

To-day,  as  we  look  down  from  the  signal  station,  we  see 
no  gathered  ships  below  waiting  for  a  favoring  breeze  ;  the 
wind  scarcely  ripples  the  sea,  and  the  boats  glide  gently 
whither  they  will,  while  here  and  there  a  great  steamer 
from  England,  bound  for  Naples,  or  Malta,  or  India,  ap- 
pears on  the  horizon,  marking  its  course  by  the  long  line 
of  smoke  trailing  behind  it. 


CLIMBING    THE    KOCK.  17 

To  this  wonderful  combination  of  land  and  sea  nothing 
can  be  added  except  by  the  changing  light  which  falls 
upon  it.  For  the  fullest  effect  you  must  wait  till  sunset, 
when  the  evening  gun  has  been  fired,  to  signal  the  depart- 
ing day,  and  its  heavy  boom  is  dying  away  in  the  distance, 

"  Swinging  low  with  sullen  roar." 

Then  the  sky  is  aflame  where  the  sun  has  gone  down  in 
the  Atlantic ;  and  as  the  last  light  from  the  west  streams 
through  the  Straits,  they  shine  as  if  they  were  the  very 
gates  of  gold  that  open  into  a  fairer  world  than  ours. 
2 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE   FORTIFICATIONS. 

TF  Gibraltar  were  merely  a  rock  in  the  ocean,  like  the 
Peak  of  Teneriffe,  its  solitary  grandeur  would  excite 
a  feeling  of  awe,  and  voyagers  up  and  down  the  Mediter- 
ranean would  turn  to  this  Pillar  of  Hercules  as  the 
great  feature  of  the  Spanish  coast,  a  "  Pillar  "  poised  be- 
tween sea  and  sky,  with  its  head  in  the  clouds  and  its 
base  deep  in  the  mighty  waters.  But  Gibraltar  is  at  the 
same  time  the  strongest  fortress  in  the  world,  and  the  in- 
terest of  every  visitor  is  to  see  its  defences,  in  which  the 
natural  strength  of  the  position  has  been  multiplied  by 
all  the  resources  of  modern  warfare. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  what  is  to  be  de- 
fended. The  Rock  is  nearly  three  miles  long,  with  a 
breadth  of  half  to  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  so  that  the 
whole  circuit  is  about  seven  miles.  But  not  all  this  re- 
quires to  be  defended,  for  on  the  eastern  side  the  cliff  is 
so  tremendous  that  there  is  no  possibility  of  scaling  it. 
It  is  fearful  to  stand  on  the  brow  and  look  down  to 
where  the  waves  are  dashing  more  than  a  thousand  feet 
below.     The   only  approach  must  be  by  land  from  the 


il 

Mil 


iM»w 


THE    rOETIFICATIONS.  19 

north,  or  from  the  sea  on  the  western  side.  As  the  lat- 
ter lies  along  the  bay,  and  is  at  the  lowest  level,  it  is  the 
most  exposed  to  attack.  Here  lies  the  town,  which  conld 
easily  be  approached  by  an  enemy  if  it  were  not  for  its 
artificial  defences.  These  consist  mainly  of  what  is  called 
the  Line-Wall,  a  tremendous  mass  of  masonry  two  miles 
long,  relieved  here  and  there  by  projecting  bastions, 
with  guns  turned  right  and  left,  so  as  to  sweep  the  face  of 
the  wall,  if  an  enemy  were  to  attempt  to  carry  it  by 
storm.  Indeed  the  line  defended  is  more  than  two  miles 
long,  if  we  follow  it  in  its  ins  and  outs  ;  where  the  New 
Mole  reaches  out  its  long  arm  into  the  bay,  with  a  line  of 
guns  on  either  side  ;  followed  by  a  re-entering  curve  round 
Kosia  Bay,  the  little  basin  whose  waters  are  so  deep  and 
still,  that  it  is  a  quiet  haven  for  unlading  ships,  but  where 
an  enemy  would  find  himself  in  the  centre  of  a  circle  of 
fire  under  which  nothing  could  live  ;  and  if  we  include  the 
batteries  still  farther  southward,  that  are  carried  beyond 
Europa  Point,  until  the  last  gun  is  planted  under  the 
eastern  cliff,  which  is  itself  a  defence  of  nature  that  needs 
no  help  from  man. 

Within  the  Line- Wall,  immediately  fronting  the  bay, 
are  the  casemates  and  barracks  for  the  artillery  regi- 
ments that  are  to  serve  the  guns.  The  casemates  are  de- 
signed to  be  absolutely  bomb-proof,  the  walls  being  of 
such  thickness  as  to  resist  the  impact  of  shot  weighing 
hundreds  of  pounds,  while  the  enormous  arches  overhead 
are  made  to  withstand  the  weight  and  the  explosion  of 


20  GIBEALTAE. 

the  heaviest  shells.  Such  at  least  was  the  design  of  the 
military  engineers  who  constructed  them :  though,  with 
tlie  new  inventions  in  war,  the  monster  gnns  and  the  new 
explosives,  it  is  hard  to  put  any  limit  to  man's  power  of 
destruction.  Tliis  Line- Wall  is  armed  with  guns  of  the 
largest  calibre,  some  of  which  are  mounted  on  the  para- 
pet above,  but  the  greater  part  are  in  the  casemates  be- 
low, and  therefore  nearer  the  level  of  the  sea,  so  that 
they  can  be  fired  but  a  few  feet  above  the  water,  and 
thus  strike  ships  in  the  most  vital  part. 

The  latest  pets  of  Gibraltar  are  a  pair  of  twins — two 
guns,  each  of  which  weighs  a  hundred  tons !  These  are 
guarded  with  great  care  from  the  too  close  inspection  of 
strangers.  No  description  can  give  a  clear  impression  of 
their  enormous  size.  In  the  early  history  of  artillery,  the 
Turks  cast  some  of  the  largest  pieces  in  the  world.  Those 
who  have  visited  the  East,  may  remember  the  huge  can- 
non-balls of  stone,  that  may  still  be  seen  lying  under  the 
walls  of  the  Round  Towers  on  the  Bosphorus.  But  those 
were  pebbles  compared  with  shot  that  can  only  be  lifted 
to  the  mouth  of  the  guns  by  machinery.  The  bore  of 
these  monsters  would  delight  the  soul  of  the  Grand  Turk, 
for,  (as  a  man  could  easily  crawl  into  one  of  them,)  if  the 
barbarous  punishment  of  the  old  days  were  still  reserved 
for  great  offenders,  a  Pasha  who  had  displeased  the  Sul- 
tan might  easily  be  put  in  along  with  the  cartridge,  and 
be  rammed  down  and  fired  off ! 

The  guns  had  recently  been  tried,  and  found  to  be  per- 


THE    FOKTIFICATIONS.  21 

feet,  tliongli  the  explosion  was  not  so  terrible  as  Lad  at 
first  been  feared.  There  had  been  some  apprehension 
that  a  weapon  which  was  to  be  so  destructive  to  ene- 
mies, might  not  be  an  innocent  toy  to  those  who  fired  it ; 
that  it  might  split  the  ear-drums  of  the  gunners  them- 
selves. Some  years  ago  I  was  at  Syra,  in  the  Greek  Archi- 
pelago, when  the  English  ironclad  Devastation  was  lying 
in  port,  which  had  four  thirty-five-ton  guns,  (the  mon- 
sters of  that  day,)  and  one  of  her  officers  said  that  they 
"never  fired  them  except  at  sea,  for  that  the  discharge 
in  the  harbor  would  break  every  window  in  the  town." 
But  here  the  effect  seems  not  to  have  been  so  great. 
One  who  was  present  at  the  firing  of  one  of  the  hundred- 
ton  guns,  told  me  that  all  who  stood  round  expected  to  be 
deafened  by  the  concussion.  Yet  when  it  came,  they 
turned  and  looked  at  each  other  with  a  mixture  of  sur- 
prise and  disappointment.  The  sound  was  not  in  propor- 
tion to  the  size.  Indeed  our  Consul  tells  me  that  some  of 
the  sixty-eight  pounders  are  as  ear-splitting  as  the  hun- 
dred-ton guns.  But  an  English  gentleman  whom  I  met 
at  ISTaples  gave  me  a  different  report  of  his  experience. 
He  had  just  come  from  Malta,  where  they  have  a 
hundred -ton  gun  mounted  on  the  ramparts.  One  day, 
while  at  dinner  in  the  hotel,  they  heard  a  crash,  at 
which  all  started  from  their  seats,  and  rushed  to  the  win- 
dows to  throw  them  open,  lest  a  second  discharge  should 
leave  not  a  pane  of  glass  unbroken.  But  this  came  only 
as  they  left  the  harbor.     When  about  three  miles  at  sea. 


22  GIBEALTAK. 

they  saw  the  flash,  which  was  followed  by  a  boom  such  as 
they  never  lieard  before.  It  was  the  most  awful  thunder 
rolling  over  the  deep  in  billows,  like  waves  of  the  sea,  fill- 
ing the  whole  horizon  with  the  vast,  tremendous  sound. 
It  was  as  "  the  voice  of  God  upon  the  waters." 

But,  of  course,  with  the  hundred-ton  guns,  as  with  any 
other,  the  main  question  is,  not  how  much  noise  they 
make,  but  what  is  their  power  of  destruction.  Here  the 
experiment  was  entirely  satisfactory.  It  proved  that  a 
hundred-ton  gun  would  throw  a  ball  weighing  2,000  pounds 
over  eiffht  miles !  *  With  such  a  range  it  would  reach 
every  part  of  the  bay,  and  a  brace  of  them,  with  the 
hundreds  of  heavy  guns  along  the  Line-Wall,  might  be 
relied  upon  to  clear  the  bay  of  a  hostile  fleet,  so  that 
Gibraltar  could  hardly  be  approached  by  sea. 

But  these  are  not  the  whole  of  its  defences ;  they  are 
only  the  beginning.  There  are  batteries  in  the  rear  of 
the  town,  as  well  as  in  front,  that  can  be  fired  over  the 
tops  of  the  houses,  so  that,  if  an  enemy  were  to  effect  a 
landing  he  would  have  to  fight  his  way  at  every  step.  As 
you  climb  the  Rock,  it  fairly  bristles  with  guns.  You 
cannot  turn  to  the  right  or  the  left  without  seeing  these 
open-mouthed  monsters,  and  looking  into  their  murder- 

*  The  exact  figures  of  this  Armstrong  Gtm  are  :  "Weight,  101. 2  tons. 
Length,  32.65  feet.  Length  of  bore,  30.25  feet.  Diameter  of  bore,  17.72 
inches.  Length  of  charge  of  powder,  5  feet.  Weight  of  charge,  450  pounds. 
Weight  of  shot,  2,000  pounds.  Velocity  at  the  muzzle,  1,548  feet  per  second. 
At  such  velocity,  a  ball  of  such  weight  would  have  a  "smashing  effect"  of 
33.230  "  foot-tons,"  and  would  penetrate  24.0  inches  of  wrought  iron.  Range, 
when  fired  at  the  highest  elevation,  over  8  miles. 


THE    FORTIFICATIONS.  23 

ous  throats.  Everywhere  it  is  nothing  hnt  guns,  guns, 
guns  !  There  are  guns  over  your  head  and  under  your 
feet  — 

"  Cannon  to  the  right  of  you, 
Cannon  to  the  left  of  you  ;" 

and  what  is  still  more,  cannon  pointed  directly  at  you,  till 
you  almost  feel  as  if  they  were  aimed  with  a  purpose, 
and  as  if  they  might  suddenly  open  their  mouths,  and 
belch  you  forth,  as  the  whale  did  Jonah,  though  not  upon 
the  land,  but  into  the  midst  of  the  sea  ! 

But  my  story  is  not  ended.  It  is  a  good  rule  in  de- 
scription to  keep  the  best  to  the  last.  The  unique  feature 
of  Gibraltar — that  in  which  it  surpasses  all  the  other 
fortresses  of  Europe,  or  of  the  world — is  the  Rock  Galle- 
ries, to  which  I  will  now  lead  the  way.  These  were  begun 
more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  during  the  Great  Siege, 
which  lasted  nearly  four  years,  when  the  inhabitants  had 
no  rest  day  nor  night.  For,  though  the  French  and 
Spanish  besiegers  had  not  rifled  guns,  nor  any  of  the  im- 
proved artillery  of  modern  times,  yet  even  with  their 
smooth-bore  cannon  and  mortars  they  managed  to  reach 
every  part  of  the  Rock.  Bombs  and  shells  were  always 
flying  over  the  town,  now  bursting  in  the  air,  and  now  fall- 
ing with  terrible  destruction.  So  high  did  these  missiles 
reach,  that  even  the  Rock  Gun,  on  the  very  pinnacle  of 
Gibraltar,  was  twice  dismounted.  Thus  pursued  to  the 
very  eagle's  nest  of  their  citadel,  and  finding  no  rest 


24  GIBRALTAE. 

above  ground,  the  besieged  felt  that  their  only  shelter 
must  be  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  gangs  of  convicts 
were  set  to  work  to  blast  out  these  long  galleries,  which 
we  are  now  to  visit. 

As  it  is  a  two  miles'  walk  through  them,  we  may  save 
our  steps  by  riding  as  far  as  the  entrance.  It  is  an  easy 
drive  up  to  the  Moorish  Castle,  built  by  the  African  in- 
vader who  crossed  the  Straits  in  711,  and  finding  the  south 
of  Spain  an  easy  conquest,  resolved  to  establish  himself 
in  the  country,  and  a  few  years  later  built  this  castle  on 
a  shoulder  of  the  hill,  where  it  has  stood,  frowning  over 
land  and  sea  for  nearly  twelve  centuries. 

Here  we  present  an  order  from  the  Military  Secretary, 
and  the  officer  in  charge  details  a  gunner  to  conduct  us 
through  the  galleries.  The  gate  is  opened,  and  we  plunge 
in  at  once,  beginning  on  the  lower  level.  The  excavation 
is  just  like  that  of  a  railway  tunnel,  except  that  no  arches 
are  required,  as  it  is  for  the  whole  distance  hewn  through 
the  solid  rock,  which  is  self-supporting. 

But  it  is  not  a  gloomy  cavern  that  we  are  to  explore, 
through  which  we  can  make  our  way  only  by  the  light  of 
torches,  for  at  every  dozen  yards  there  is  a  large  port-hole, 
by  which  light  is  admitted  from  without,  at  all  of  which 
heavy  guns  are  mounted  on  carriages,  by  which  they  can 
be  swung  round  to  any  quarter. 

After  we  have  passed  through  one  tier,  perhaps  a  mile 
in  length,  we  mount  to  a  second,  which  rises  above  the 
other  like  the  upper  deck  of  an  enormous  line-of-battle 


THE    FORTIFICATIONS.  25 

ship.  Enormous  indeed  it  must  be,  if  we  can  imagine  a 
double-decker  a  mile  long  ! 

Following  the  galleries  to  the  very  end,  we  find  them 
enlarged  to  an  open  space,  called  the  Hall  of  St.  George, 
in  which  ISTelson  was  once  feted  by  the  officers  of  the  gar- 
rison. It  must  have  been  a  proud  moment  when  the  de- 
fenders of  the  Great  Fortress  paid  homage  to  the  Con- 
queror of  the  sea.  As  they  drank  to  the  health  of  the 
hero  of  the  Battle  of  the  Mle,  they  could  hardly  have 
dreamed  that  a  greater  victory  was  yet  to  come  ;  and  still 
less,  that  it  would  be  a  victory  followed  by  mourning, 
when  all  the  flags  in  Gibraltar  would  be  hung  at  half- 
mast,  as  the  flagship  of  Nelson  anchored  in  the  bay, 
with  only  his  body  on  board,  one  week  after  the  battle  of 
Trafalgar. 

As  we  tramped  past  these  endless  rows  of  cannon,  it 
occurred  to  me  that  their  simultaneous  discharge  must  be 
very  trying  to  the  nerves  of  the  artilleryman  (if  he  has 
any  nerves),  as  the  concussion  against  the  walls  of  rock  is 
much  greater  than  if  they  were  flred  in  the  open  air,  and 
I  asked  my  guide  if  he  did  not  dread  it  ?  He  confessed 
that  he  did ;  but  added,  like  the  plucky  soldier  that  he 
was :  "  We've  got  to  stand  up  to  it !  " 

These  galleries  are  all  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
Rock,  which,  as  it  is  very  precipitous,  hardly  needs  such 
a  defence.  But  it  is  the  side  which  looks  toward  Spain, 
and  is  intended  to  command  any  advance  against  the  for- 
tress from  the  land.     Keeping  in  mind  the  general  shape 


26  GIBKALTAR. 

of  the  Tlock  as  that  of  a  lion,  this  is  the  Lion's  head,  and 
as  I  looked  up  at  it  afterward  from  the  Neutral  Ground, 
I  could  but  imagine  these  open  port-holes,  with  the  sav- 
age-looking guns  peering  out  of  them,  to  be  the  lion's  teeth, 
and  thought  what  terror  would  be  thrown  into  a  camp  of 
besiegers  if  the  monster  should  once  open  those  ponderous 
jaws  and  shake  the  hills  with  his  tremendous  roar. 

It  is  not  often  that  this  roar  is  heard  ;  but  there  is  one 
day  in  the  year  when  it  culminates,  when  the  British 
Lion  roars  the  loudest.  It  is  the  Queen's  birthday,  when 
the  Rock  Gun,  mounted  on  the  highest  point  of  the 
Rock,  1,400  feet  in  air,  gives  the  signal ;  which  is  imme- 
diately caught  up  by  the  galleries  below,  one  after  the 
other ;  and  the  batteries  along  the  sea  answer  to  those 
from  the  mountain  side,  until  the  mighty  reverberations 
not  only  sweep  round  the  bay,  but  across  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  far  along  the  African  shores.  JSTothing  like 
this  is  seen  or  heard  in  any  other  part  of  the  M'orld.  The 
only  parallel  to  it  is  in  the  magnificent  phenomena  of 
nature,  as  in  a  storm  in  the  Alps,  when 

"Not  from  one  lone  cloud, 
But  every  mountain  now  liath  found  a  tongue, 
And  Jura  answers  from  her  misty  shroud 
Back  to  the  joyous  Alps  that  call  to  her  aloud." 

This  is  magnificent :  and  yet  I  trust  my  military  friends 
will  not  despise  my  sober  tastes  if  I  confess  that  this 
"  roar,"  if  kept  up  for  any  length  of  time,  would  greatly 
disturb  the  meditations  of  a  quiet  traveller  like  myself. 


THE    rOETlFICATIOI^S.  27 

Indeed  it  would  be  a  serious  objection  to  living  in  Gibral- 
tar that  I  should  be  compelled  to  endure  the  cannonad- 
ing, which,  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  makes  the  rocks 
echo  with  a  deafening  sound.  I  hate  noise,  and  especially 
the  noise  of  sharp  explosions.  I  have  always  been  of 
Falstaff's  opinion,  that 

"  But  for  those  vile  guns  I  would  be  a  soldier." 

But  here  the  "  vile  guns  "  are  everywhere,  and  though 
they  may  be  quiet  for  a  time,  it  is  only  to  break  out  after- 
ward and  make  themselves  heard  in  a  way  that  cannot  but 
be  understood. 

As  I  have  happened  on  an  interval  of  rest,  I  have  been 
surprised  at  the  quietness  of  Gibraltar.  In  all  the  time 
of  my  stay  I  have  not  heard  a  single  gun,  except  at  sunrise 
and  sunset,  and  at  half-past  nine  o'clock  for  the  soldiers 
to  return  to  their  barracks.  There  has  not  been  even  a 
salute,  for,  although  there  is  on  the  Alameda  a  saluting 
battery,  composed  of  Russian  guns  taken  in  the  Crimean 
War,  3^et  it  is  less  often  used  than  might  be  supposed,  for 
the  ships  of  war  that  come  here  are  for  the  most  part 
English  (the  French  and  Spaniards  would  hardly  find  the 
associations  agreeable),  and  these  are  not  saluted  since  they 
are  at  home,  as  much  as  if  they  were  entering  Portsmouth. 

For  these  reasons  I  have  found  Gibraltar  so  quiet  that 
I  was  beginning  to  think  it  a  dull  old  Spanish  town,  fit 
for  a  retreat,  if  not  for  monks,  at  least  for  travellers  and 
scholars,  when  the  Colonial  Secretary  dispelled  the  illu- 


28  GIBEALTAE. 

sion  by  saying,  "Yes,  it  is  very  quiet  just  now;  but  wait 
a  few  weeks  and  you  will  have  enough  of  it."  As  the 
spring  comes  on,  the  artillerymen  begin  their  practice. 
The  guns  in  the  galleries  are  not  used,  but  all  the  batte- 
ries along  the  sea,  and  at  different  points  on  the  side  of 
the  Rock,  some  of  which  are  mounted  with  the  heaviest 
modern  artillery,  are  let  loose  upon  the  town. 

But  this  is  not  done  without  due  notice.  The  order  is 
published  in  the  Ckronicle^  a  little  sheet  which  appears 
every  morning,  and  lest  it  might  not  reach  the  eyes  of  all, 
messengers  are  sent  to  every  house  to  give  due  warning, 
so  that  nervous  people  can  get  out  of  the  way ;  but  the 
inhabitants  generally,  being  used  to  it,  take  no  other  pre- 
caution than  to  open  their  windows,  which  might  other- 
wise be  broken  by  the  violence  of  the  concussion.  Lord 
GifEord,  soldier  as  he  is,  said,  "It  is  awful,"  pointing 
to  the  ceiling  over  his  head,  which  had  been  cracked 
in  many  places  so  as  to  be  in  danger  of  falling,  by  the 
tremendous  jar.  He  told  me  how  one  house  had  been 
so  knocked  to  pieces  that  a  piece  of  timber  had  fallen, 
nearly  killing  an  officer.  This  is  an  enlivening  experi- 
ence, of  which  I  should  be  sorry  to  deprive  those  who 
like  it.  But  as  some  of  us  prefer  to  live  in  "  the  still  air 
of  delightful  studies,"  I  must  say  that  I  enjoy  these  ex- 
plosions best  at  a  distance,  as  even  in  an  Alpine  storm  I 
would  not  have  the  lightning  flashing  in  my  very  eyes, 
but  rather  lighting  up  the  whole  blackened  sky,  and  the 
mighty  thunder  rolling  afar  off  in  the  mountains. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ROUND    THE    TOWN. 

A  CCITSTOMED  as  we  are  to  tliink  of  Gibraltar  as  a 
Fortress,  we  may  forget  that  it  is  anything  else. 
But  it  is  an  old  Spanish  town,  quaint  and  picturesque  as 
Spanish  towns  are  apt  to  be,  with  twenty  thousand  in- 
habitants, in  which  the  Spanish  element,  though  subject 
to  another  and  more  powerful  element,  gives  a  distinct 
flavor  to  the  place.  Indeed,  the  mingling  of  the  Spanish 
wdth  the  English,  or  the  appearance  of  the  two  side  by 
side,  without  mingling,  furnishes  a  lively  contrast,  which 
is  one  of  the  most  piquant  features  of  this  very  miscel- 
laneous and  picturesque  population. 

Of  course,  in  a  garrison  town  the  military  element  is 
first  and  foremost.  As  there  are  always  five  or  six  thou- 
sand troops  in  Gibraltar,  it  is  perhaps  the  largest  garrison 
ill  the  British  dominions,  unless  the  troops  in  and  around 
London  be  reckoned  as  a  garrison.  But  that  is  rather 
an  army,  of  which  only  a  small  part  is  in  London  itself, 
where  a  few  picked  regiments  are  kept  as  Household 
Troops,  not  only  to  insure  the  personal  safety  of  the  sove- 


30  GIBRALTAR, 

reign,  but  to  keep  np  the  state  and  dignity  of  the  court ; 
while  other  regiments  are  distributed  in  barracks  within 
easy  call  in  case  of  need,  not  for  defence  against  foreign 
enemies  so  much  as  to  preserve  internal  order  ;  to  put 
down  riot  and  insurrection ;  and  thus  guard  what  is  not 
only  the  capital  of  Great  Britain,  but  the  commercial  cen- 
tre of  the  world. 

Yery  different  from  this  is  a  garrison  town,  where  a 
large  body  of  troops  is  shut  up  within  the  walls  of  a  for- 
tress. Here  the  military  element  is  so  absorbing  and  con- 
trolling, that  it  dominates  the  whole  life  of  the  place. 
Everything  goes  by  military  rule ;  even  the  hours  of  the 
day  are  announced  by  "gun-fire  ;"  the  morning  gun  gives 
the  exact  minute  at  which  the  soldiers  are  to  turn  out  of 
their  beds,  and  the  last  evening  gun  the  minute  at  which 
they  are  to  "turn  in,"  signals  which, though  for  the  sol- 
diers only,  the  working  population  of  the  town  find  it  con- 
venient to  adopt;  and  which  outsiders  tmist  regard,  since 
at  these  hours  the  gates  are  opened  and  shut ;  so  that  a 
large  part  of  the  non-military  part  of  the  population  have 
to  "  keep  step,"  almost  as  much  as  if  they  M'ere  marching 
in  the  ranks,  since  their  rising  up  and  their  lying  down, 
their  goings  out  and  their  comings  in,  are  all  regulated 
by  the  fire  of  the  gun  or  the  blast  of  the  bugle. 

The  presence  of  so  large  a  body  of  troops  in  Gibraltar 
gives  a  constant  animation  to  its  streets,  which  are  alive 
M'ith  red-coats  and  blue-coats,  the  latter  being  the  uniform 
of   the  artillery.     This  is  a  great  entertainment  to  an 


EOUISTD    THE    TOWIST.  31 

American,  to  whom  such  sights  in  his  own  country  are 
rare  and  strange.  A  few  years  ago  we  had  enough  of 
them  when  we  had  a  million  of  men  in  arms,  and  the 
land  was  filled  with  the  sound  of  war.  But  since  the 
blessed  days  of  peace  have  come  we  seldom  see  a  soldier, 
so  that  the  parades  in  foreign  capitals  have  all  the  charm 
of  novelty.  In  fondness  for  these  I  am  as  much  "  a  boy  " 
as  the  youngest  of  my  countrymen.  Almost  every  hour 
a  company  passes  up  the  street,  and  never  do  I  hear  the 
"  tramp,  tramp,"  keeping  time  to  the  fife  and  drum,  that 
I  do  not  rush  to  the  balcony  to  see  the  sight,  and  hear  the 
sounds  which  stir  even  my  peaceful  breast. 

There  is  nothing  that  stirs  me  quite  so  much  as  the 
bugle.  Twice  a  day  it  startles  us  with  its  piercing  blast, 
as  it  follows  instantly  the  gun-fire  at  sunrise  and  sunset. 
But  this  does  not  thrill  me  as  when  I  hear  it  blown  on 
some  far-off  height,  and  dying  away  in  a  valley  below,  or 
answered  back  from  a  yet  more  distant  point,  like  a 
mountain  echo.  One  morning  I  was  taking  a  walk  to 
Europa  Point,  and  as  the  path  leads  upward  I  came  upon 
several  squads  of  buglers  (I  counted  a  dozen  men  in  one  of 
them)  practising  their  "  calls."  They  were  stationed  at 
different  points  on  the  side  of  the  Rock,  so  that  when  one 
company  had  given  the  signal,  it  was  repeated  by  another 
from  a  distance,  bugle  answering  to  bugle,  precisely  like 
the  echoes  in  the  Alps,  to  which  every  traveller  stops  to 
listen.  So  here  I  stopped  to  listen  till  the  last  note  had 
died  away  in  the  murmuring  sea  ;  and  then,  as  I  went  on 


32  GIBKALTAK. 

over  the  liill,  kept  repeating,  as  if  it  were  a  spell  to  call 
tliem  back  again : 

"  Blow,  bugles,  blow, 
Set  the  wild  echoes  flying  ! ' 

As  the  English  are  masters  of  Gibraltar,  I  am  glad  to 
see  that  they  bring  their  English  ideas  and  English  cus- 
toms with  them.  Kothing  shows  the  thoroughly  English 
character  of  the  place  more  than  the  perfect  quiet  of  the 
day  of  rest.  Keligious  worship  seems  to  be  a  part  of 
the  military  discipline.  On  Sunday  morning  I  heard  the 
familiar  sound  of  music,  followed  by  the  soldiers'  tramp, 
and  stepping  to  the  balcony  again,  found  a  regiment  on 
the  march,  not  to  parade  but  to  cliurch.  Gibraltar  has  the 
honor  of  being  the  seat  of  an  English  bishop,  because  of 
which  its  modest  church  bears  the  stately  name  of  a  Ca- 
thedral ;  and  here  may  be  seen  on  a  Sunday  morning 
nearly  all  the  officials  of  the  place,  from  the  Governor 
down;  with  the  officers  of  the  garrison:  and  probably 
the  soldiers  generally  follow  the  example  of  their  officers 
in  attending  the  service  of  the  Church  of  England.  But 
they  are  not  compelled  to  this  against  their  own  prefer- 
ences. The  Irish  can  go  to  mass,  and  the  Scotch  to  their 
simpler  worship.  In  all  the  churches  there  is  a  large  dis- 
play of  nniforms,  nor  could  the  preachers  address  more 
orderly  or  more  attentive  listeners.  The  pastor  of  the 
Scotch  church  tells  me  that  he  is  made  happy  when  a 
Scotch  regiment  is  ordered  to  Gibraltar,  for  then  he  is 


EOUND    THE    TOWN.  33 

sure  of  a  large  array  of  stalwart  Catneronians,  among 
whom  are  always  some  who  have  the  "gift  of  prayer," 
and  know  how  to  sing  the  "Psauraes  of  Dawvid."  These 
brave  Scots  go  through  with  their  religious  exercises  al- 
most with  the  stride  of  grenadiers,  for  they  are  in  dead 
earnest  in  whatever  they  undertake,  whether  it  be  praying 
or  fighting ;  and  these  are  the  men  on  whom  a  great  com- 
mander would  rely  to  lead  a  forlorn  hope  into  the  deadly 
breach;  or,  as  an  English  wa-iter  has  said,  "to  march  first 
and  foremost  if  a  city  is  to  be  taken  by  storm ! " 

Besides  the  garrison,  and  the  English  or  Spanish  resi- 
dents of  Gibraltar,  the  town  has  a  floating  population  as 
motley  in  race  and  color  as  can  be  found  in  any  city  on 
the  Mediterranean.  Indeed  it  is  one  of  the  most  cosmo- 
politan places  in  the  world.  It  is  a  great  resort  of  politi- 
cal refugees,  who  seek  protection  under  the  English  flag. 
As  it  is  so  close  to  Spain,  it  is  the  first  refuge  of  Spanish 
conspirators,  who,  failing  in  their  attempts  at  revolution, 
flee  across  the  lines.  Misery  makes  strange  bedfellows. 
It  must  be  strange  indeed  for  those  to  meet  here  who  in 
their  own  land  have  conspired  with,  or  it  may  be  against, 
each  other. 

Apart  from  these,  there  is  a  singular  mixture  of  char- 
acters and  countries,  of  races  and  religions.  Here  Span- 
iards and  Moors,  who  fought  for  Gibraltar  a  thousand 
years  ago,  are  at  peace  and  good  friends,  at  least  so  far  as 
to  be  willing  to  cheat  each  other  as  readily  as  if  they 
were  of  the  same  relio;ion.     Here  are  lon^-bearded  Jews 


34  GIBEALTAE. 

ill  their  gfibardines;  and  Turks  with  their  baggy  trousers, 
taking  up  more  space  than  is  allowed  to  Christian  legs  ; 
with  a  mongrel  race  from  the  Eastern  part  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, known  as  Levantines;  and  another  like  unto 
them,  the  Maltese  ;  and  a  choice  variety  of  natives  of 
Gibraltar,  called  "  Rock  scorpions,"  with  Africans  blacker 
than  Moors,  who  have  perhaps  crossed  the  desert,  and 
liail  from  Timbuctoo.  All  these  make  a  Babel  of  races 
and  languages,  as  they  jostle  each  other  in  these  narrow 
and  crowded  streets,  and  bargain  with  each  other,  and,  I 
am  afraid,  sometimes  swear  at  each  other,  in  all  the  lan- 
guages of  the  East. 

Here  is  a  field  for  the  young  American  artists,  who 
after  making  their  sketches  in  Florence  and  Home  and 
Naples,  sometimes  come  to  Spain,  but  seldom  take  the 
trouble  to  come  as  far  as  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  As  an 
old  traveller,  let  me  assure  them  that  an  artist  in  search 
of  the  picturesque,  or  of  what  is  curious  in  the  study 
of  strange  peoples,  may  find  in  Gibraltar,  with  its  neigh- 
bor Tangier,  (but  three  hours'  sail  across  the  Straits)  sub- 
jects for  his  pencil  as  rich  in  feature,  in  color,  and  in  cos- 
tume, as  he  can  find  in  the  bazaars  of  Cairo  or  Constanti- 
nople. 


CHAPTER  y. 

PARADE  ON  THE  ALAMEDA,     PRESENTATION  OF  COLORS  TO 
THE  SOUTH  STAFFORDSHIRE  REGIMENT. 

rriHE  garrison  of  Gibraltar,  in  time  of  peace,  numbers 
five  or  six  thousand  men,  made  up  chiefly  of  regi- 
ments brought  home  from  foreign  service,  that  are  sta- 
tioned  here  for  a  few  months,  or  it  may  be  a  year  or  two, 
not  merely  to  perform  garrison  dut}',  but  as  a  place  of 
rest  to  recover  strength  for  fresh  campaigns,  from  which 
they  can  be  ordered  to  any  part  of  the  Mediterranean  or 
to  India.  "While  here  they  are  kept  under  constant 
drill,  yet  not  in  such  bodies  as  to  make  a  grand  mili- 
tary display,  for  there  is  no  parade  ground  large  enough 
for  the  purpose.  Gibraltar  has  no  Champ  de  Mars  on 
which  all  the  regiments  can  be  brought  into  the  field, 
and  go  through  with  the  evolutions  of  an  army.  If 
the  whole  garrison  is  to  be  put  under  arms,  it  must  be 
marched  out  of  the  gates  to  the  I^ortli  Front,  adjoining 
the  Neutral  Ground,  that  it  may  have  room  for  its  mili- 
tary manoeuvres.  When  our  countryman  General  Craw- 
ford, wlio  commanded  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  at  the 
Battle  of  Gettysburg,  was  here  a  few  years  since,  the  Gov- 


36  GIBRALTAE. 

ernor,  Sir  Fenwick  Williams,  gave  him  a  review  of  four 
thousand  men.  But  that  was  a  mark  of  respect  to  a  distin- 
guished military  visitor,  and  presented  a  sight  rarely  wit- 
nessed by  the  ordinary  traveller.  It  was  therefore  a  piece 
of  good  fortune  to  have  an  opportunity  to  see,  though  on 
a  smaller  scale,  the  splendid  bearing  of  the  trained  soldiers 
of  the  British  Army.  One  morning  our  Consul  (always 
thoughtful  of  what  might  contribute  to  my  pleasure)  sent 
me  word  that  there  was  to  be  a  parade  of  one  of  the  regi- 
ments of  the  garrison  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  new 
colors  from  the  hands  of  the  Governor.  Hastening  to  the 
Alameda,  (which  is  the  only  open  space  within  the 
walls  at  once  large  enough  and  level  enough  even  for 
a  single  regiment,)  I  found  it  already  in  position,  the 
long  scarlet  lines  forming  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square. 
Joining  a  group  of  spectators  on  the  side  that  was  open, 
we  waited  the  arrival  of  the  Governor,  an  interval  well 
employed  in  some  inquiries  as  to  the  corps  that  was  to  re- 
ceive the  honors  of  the  day. 

"What  did  you  tell  me  was  the  name  of  this  Regi- 
ment ? "  "  The  South  Staffordshire ! "  But  that  is  merely 
the  name  of  a  county  in  England,  which  conveys  no 
meaning  to  an  American.  And  yet  the  name  caught  my 
ear  as  one  that  I  had  heard  before.  "  Was  not  this  one 
of  the  Regiments  that  served  lately  in  the  Soudan  ? " 
It  was  indeed  the  same,  and  I  at  once  knew  more  of  it 
than  I  had  supposed.  As  I  had  been  twice  in  Egypt,  I 
was  greatly  interested  in  the  expedition  up  the  Kile  for 


PAEADE    ON    THE    ALAMEDA.  37 

the  relief  of  Khartoum  and  the  rescue  of  General  Gordon, 
and  had  followed  its  progress  in  the  English  papers, 
where,  along  with  the  Black  Watch  and  other  famous 
troops,  I  had  seen  frequent  mention  of  the  South  Staf- 
fordshire Regiment.  As  the  expedition  was  for  months 
the  leading  feature  of  the  London  illustrated  papers,  they 
were  filled  with  pictures  of  the  troops,  engaged  in  every 
kind  of  service,  sometimes  looking  more  like  sailors  than 
soldiers,  from  which,  however,  they  were  ready,  at  the 
first  alarm,  to  fall  into  ranks  and  march  to  battle.  Many 
of  the  conn-ades  who  sailed  from  England  with  them  left 
their  bones  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 

With  this  recent  history  in  mind,  I  could  not  look  in 
the  faces  of  the  brave  men  who  had  made  all  these 
marches,  and  endured  these  fatigues,  and  fought  these 
battles,  without  my  heart  beating  fast.  It  beat  faster 
still  when  I  learned  that  the  campaign  in  Egypt  was 
only  the  last  of  a  long  series  of  campaigns,  reaching  over 
not  only  many  years,  but  almost  two  centuries!  The 
history  of  this  regiment  is  worth  the  telling,  if  it  were 
only  to  show  of  what  stuff  the  British  Army  is  made,  and 
how  the  traditions  of  a  particular  corps,  passing  down  from 
sire  to  son,  remain  its  perpetual  glory  and  inspiration. 

The  South  Staffordshire  Regiment  is  one  of  the  oldest 
in  the  English  Army,  having  been  organized  in  the  reign 
of  Queen  Anne,  when  the  great  Marlborough  led  her 
troops  to  foreign  wars.  But  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
fought  under  Marlborough,  having  been  early  transferred 


38  GIBllALTAr.. 

to  the  "Western  Ilemispliere.  After  four  years'  service 
at  home  it  was  sent  to  the  West  Indies,  where  it  re- 
mained nearly  sixty  years,  its  losses  by  death  being  made 
good  by  fresh  recruits  from  England,  so  that  its  organiza- 
tion -was  kept  intact.  Returning  home  in  1705,  it  was 
stationed  in  Ireland  till  the  cloud  began  to  darken  over 
the  American  Colonies,  when  it  was  one  of  the  first  corps 
despatched  across  the  Atlantic.  As  an  American,  I  could 
not  but  feel  the  respect  due  to  a  brave  enemy  on  learning 
that  this  very  regiment  that  I  saw  before  me  had  fought 
at  Bunker  Hill !  From  Boston  it  was  ordered  to  New 
York,  where  it  remained  till  the  close  of  the  war.  Xo 
doubt  it  often  paraded  on  the  Battery,  as  to-daj'  it  pa- 
rades on  the  Alameda.  After  the  war  it  was  stationed 
several  years  in  Nova  Scotia. 

From  that  time  it  has  had  a  full  century  of  glory,  serv- 
ing now  in  the  West  Indies,  and  now  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  then  coming  back  across  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Hiver  Plate  in  South  America,  where  it  distinguished  it- 
self at  the  storming  and  capture  of  Monte  Yideo,  and  af- 
terward fought  at  Buenos  Ayres.  But  the  "  storm  cen- 
tre "  in  the  opening  nineteenth  century  M-as  to  be,  not 
in  America,  North  or  South,  nor  in  Africa,  but  in 
Europe,  in  the  wars  of  Napoleon.  This  regiment  was 
with  Sir  John  Moore  when  he  fell  at  Corunna,  and  after- 
ward followed  the  Iron  Duke  through  Spain,  fighting  in 
the  great  battle  of  Salamanca,  and  later  with  Sir  Thomas 
Graham  at  Yittoria,  and  in  the  siege  and  storming  of  San 


PARADE    ON    THE    ALAMEDA.  39 

Sebastian.  It  was  part  of  the  army  that  crossed  the 
Bidassoa,  and  made  the  campaign  of  1813-14  in  the 
South  of  France.  After  the  fall  of  ISTapoleon  it  returned 
home,  but  on  his  return  from  Elba  was  immediately  or- 
dered back  to  the  Continent,  and  arrived  at  Ostend,  too 
late  to  take  part  in  the  Battle  of  Waterloo,  but  joined  the 
army  and  marched  with  it  to  Paris. 

When  the  great  disturber  of  the  peace  of  the  Conti- 
nent was  sent  to  St.  Helena,  Europe  Jiad  a  long  rest 
from  war;  but  there  was  trouble  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  and  in  1819  the  regiment  was  again  at  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  fighting  the  Kaffirs ;  from  which  it  went 
to  India,  and  thence  to  Burmah,  where  it  served  in  the 
war  of  1821-26.  This  is  the  war  which  has  been  made 
familiar  to  American  readers  in  the  Life  of  the  Mis- 
sionary Judson,  who  was  thrown  into  prison  at  Ava,  (as 
the  King  made  no  distinction  between  Englishmen  and 
Americans),  confined  in  a  dungeon,  and  chained  to  the 
vilest  malefactors,  in  constant  danger  of  death,  till  the  ad- 
vance of  the  British  army  up  the  Irrawaddi  threw  the  ty- 
rant into  a  panic  of  terror,  when  he  sent  for  his  prisoner 
to  go  to  the  British  camp  and  make  terms  with  the  con- 
querors. England  made  peace,  but  the  regiment  was  half 
destroyed,  having  lost  in  Burmah  eleven  officers  and  five 
hundred  men. 

The  ten  years  of  peace  that  followed  were  spent  in 
Bengal,  When  at  last  the  regiment  was  called  home,  it 
was  stationed  for  a  few  years  in  the  Ionian  Islands,  in  Ja- 


40  GIBRALTAR. 

maica,  Honduras,  and  Nova  Scotia.  Then  came  the  Ilns> 
sian  War,  when  it  was  sent  to  Turkey,  and  fought  at  the 
Ahna  and  Inkerman,  and  through  the  long  siege  of  Sebas- 
topol.  Only  a  single  year  of  peace  followed,  and  it  was 
again  ordered  to  India,  where  the  outbreak  of  the  mutiny 
threatened  the  loss  of  the  Indian  Empire,  and  by  forced 
marches  reached  Cawnpore  in  time  to  defeat  the  Sepoy 
army ;  from  which  it  marched  to  Lucknow,  where  it  was 
part  of  the  fiery  host  that  stormed  the  Kaiser-Bagh,  where 
it  suffered  fearful  loss,  but  the  siege  was  raised  and  Luck- 
now  delivered;  after  which,  in  a  campaign  in  Oude,  it 
helped  to  stamp  out  the  mutiny. 

Its  last  campaign  was  in  Egypt,  where  it  went  up  the 
Nile  as  a  part  of  the  River  Column,  hauling  its  boats  over 
the  cataracts,  and  was  the  first  regiment  that  reached 
Korti.  From  this  point  it  kept  along  the  course  of  the 
river  toward  Berber  (while  another  column,  mounted  on 
camels,  made  the  march  across  the  desert),  and  with  the 
Black  Watch  bore  the  brunt  of  the  fighting  in  the  battle 
of  Ivirbekan,  in  which  the  commander  of  the  column 
and  the  colonel  of  the  regiment  both  fell.* 

*  A  letter  received  from  Sir  Charles  Wilson,  who  was  in  the  col- 
umn that  crossed  the  desert,  and  who  went  np  the  Nile  and  arrived 
in  sight  of  Khartoum  only  to  learn  that  the  city  had  fallen  and 
Gordon  been  killed,  speaks  warmly  of  both  these  officers,  his  old 
companions  in  arms.  He  says  :  "  General  Earle,  who  was  killed 
at  Kirbekan,  was  a  regimental  officer  in  the  Guards,  and  had  been 
on  the  staff  in  Canada  and  India — in  both  cases,  I  think,  as  mili- 
tary secretary  to  the  Viceroy.  He  was  much  beloved  by  every  one. 
Colonel  Earle,  who  commanded  the  fcJouth  Staffordshire  Begi 


PARADE    OlSr    THE    ALAMEDA.  41 

Snch  is  the  story  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  Of 
the  hundred  and  eighty-four  years  that  the  Regiment 
has  been  in  existence,  it  has  spent  a  Iiundred  and  thirty- 
four — all  but  fifty — in  foreign  service,  in  which  it  has 
fought  in  thirty-eight  battles,  and  has  left  the  bones  of 
its  dead  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  Was  there  ever  a 
Roman  legion  that  could  show  a  longer  record  of  war  and 
of  glory  ? 

And  now  this  British  legion,  with  a  history  antedating 
the  possession  of  Gibraltar  itself,  (for  it  was  organized  in 
1702,  two  years  before  the  Rock  was  captured  from 
Spain,)  had  been  brought  back  to  this  historic  ground, 
bringing  with  it  its  old  battle-flags,  that  had  floated  on  so 
many  fields,  which,  worn  by  time  and  torn  by  shot  and 
shell,  it  was  now  to  surrender,  to  be  taken  back  to  Eng- 
land and  hung  in  the  oldest  church  in  Staffordshire  as 
the  proud  memorials  of  its  glory,  while  it  was  to  receive 
new  colors,  to  be  borne  in  future  wars.  The  rents  in  its 
ranks  had  been  filled  by  new  recruits,  so  that  it  stood 
full  a  thousand  strong,  its  burnished  arms  glistening  as  if 
those  who  bore  them  had  never  been  in  the  heat  of  battle. 
In  the  hollow  square  in  which  it  was  drawn  up  were  its 
mounted  officers,  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  Governor,  who 
presently  rode  upon  the  ground,  with  Major-General 
Walker,  the  Commander  of  the  Infantry  Brigade,  at  his 

ment,  was  also  killed  at  Kirbekan.  He  originally  rose  from  the 
ranks,  and  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  best  regimental  oflicers 
up  the  Nile. 


42  GIBRALTAR. 

side ;  followed  by  otlier  officers,  who  took  position  in  the 
rear,  according  to  their  rank.  The  band  struck  up  "  God 
save  the  Queen,"  and  the  troops,  wheeling  into  column, 
began  the  "  march  past,"  moving  with  such  firm  and  even 
tread  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  regiment  had  but  one 
body  and  one  soul.  After  a  series  of  evolutions  it  was 
again  formed  in  a  square,  for  a  ceremony  that  was  half 
military  and  half  religious,  for  in  such  pageants  the 
Church  of  England  always  lends  its  presence  to  the  scene. 
I  had  read  of  military  mass  in  the  Eussian  army,  when 
the  troops  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  fall  upon  their  knees, 
while  the  Czar,  prostrating  himself,  prays  apparently 
with  the  utmost  devotion  for  the  blessing  of  Almighty 
God  upon  the  Russian  arms!  Something  of  the  same  ef- 
fect was  produced  here,  when  the  Bishop  of  Gibraltar  in 
his  robes  came  forward  with  his  assistant  clergy.  At 
once  the  band  ceased ;  the  troops  stood  silent  and  rever- 
ent. The  silence  was  first  broken  by  the  singing  of  a 
Hymn,  whose  rugged  verse  had  a  strange  effect,  as  given 
by  the  Regimental  Choir.  I  leave  to  my  readers  to  imag- 
ine the  power  of  these  martial  lines  sung  by  those  sten- 
torian voices : 

When  Israel's  Chief  in  clays  of  yore, 

Thy  banner,  Lord,  flung  oiit, 
Old  Kisbon's  tide  ran  red  with  gore. 

Dire  was  the  Pagan  rout. 

And  later,  when  the  Eoman's  eye 
Turned  ujjward  in  despau", 


PAKADE    OlSr    THE    ALAMEDA.  43 

The  Cross,  that  flickered  in  the  sky, 
Made  answer  to  his  prayer. 

So,  Lord,  to  us  Thy  siipj)liants  now, 

Bend  Thou  a  gracious  ear, 
And  mark,  and  register  the  vow 

We  make  before  Thee  here. 

Through  fire  and  steel,  'mid  weal  or  woe, 

Unwavering  and  in  faith, 
Where'er  these  sacred  banners  go, 

We'll  follow,  to  the  death. 

We'll  follow,  strengthened  by  the  might 

That  comes  of  trust  in  Thee, 
And  if  we  conquer  in  the  fight, 

Thine  shall  the  glory  be  : 

Or  if  Thy  wisdom  wing  the  ball, 

And  life  or  limb  be  riven, 
The  Cross  we  gaze  on  as  we  fall 

Shall  point  the  way  to  Heaven. 

"When  this  song  of  battle  died  away,  the  voice  of  the 
Bishop  was  heard  in  a  prayer  prepared  for  the  occasion. 
Some  may  criticise  it  as  implying  that  the  God  of 
Battles  must  always  be  on  the  side  of  England.  But 
such  is  the  character  of  all  prayers  offered  in  time  of  war. 
Making  this  allowance,  it  seems  as  if  the  feeling  of  the 
hour  could  not  be  more  devoutly  expressed  than  in  the 
following : 

Almighty  and  most  merciful  Father,  without  whom  nothing  is 
strong,  nothing  is  holy,  we  come  before  Thee  with  a  deep  sense 
of  Thine  exceeding  Majesty  and  our  own  unworthiness,  praying 


44  GIBRALTAR. 

Thee  to  shed  Tipon  us  the  light  of  Thy  countenance,  and  to  hal- 
low and  sanctify  the  work  in  which  we  are  this  day  engaged. 

We  beseech  Thee  to  forward  with  Thy  blessing,  the  presenta- 
tion to  this  Regiment  of  the  Colors  which  are  henceforth  to  be 
earned  in  its  ranks  ;  and  with  all  lowliness  and  humility  of  spirit, 
we  presume  to  consecrate  the  same  in  Thy  great  name,  to  the 
cause  of  peace  and  haj^piness,  truth  and  justice,  religion  and  piety. 
"We  humbly  pray  that  the  time  may  come  when  the  sound  of  War 
shall  cease  to  be  beard  in  the  world  ;  but  forasmuch  as  to  our 
mortal  vision  that  blessed  consummation  seems  still  far  distant, 
we  beseech  Thee  so  to  order  the  course  of  events  that  these  colors 
shall  be  unfurled  in  the  face  of  an  enemy  only  for  a  righteous 
cause.  And  in  that  dark  hour  may  stain  and  disgrace  fall  upon 
them  never;  but  being  borne  aloft  as  emblems  of  loyalty  and 
truth,  may  the  brave  who  gather  round  them  go  forward  conquer- 
ing for  the  right,  and  maintaining,  as  becomes  them,  the  honor  of 
the  British  Crown,  the  purity  of  our  most  holy  faith,  the  majesty 
of  our  laws,  and  the  influence  of  our  free  and  happy  constitution. 
Finally,  we  pray  that  Thy  servants  here  i^resent,  not  forgetful  of 
Thine  exceeding  mercies  vouchsafed  to  their  regiment  in  times 
gone  by,  and  that  all  the  forces  of  our  Sovereign  Lady  the  Queen, 
wherever  stationed  and  however  employed,  may  labor  through 
Thy  grace  to  maintain  a  conscience  void  of  offence  towards  Thee 
and  towards  man,  always  remembering  that  of  soldier  and  of  civil- 
ian the  same  account  shall  be  taken,  and  that  he  is  best  j^repared 
to  do  his  duty,  and  to  meet  death,  let  it  come  in  what  form  it  may, 
who  in  the  integrity  of  a  pure  heart  is  able  to  look  to  Thee  as  a 
God  reconciled  to  him  through  the  blood  of  the  Atonement.  Grant 
this,  O  Lord,  for  Thine  only  Son  Jesus  Christ's  sake  !     Amen. 

Then  followed  the  usual  prayer  for  the  Queen : 

O  Lord,  our  Heavenly  Father,  high  and  mighty.  King  of  kings, 
Lord  of  lords,  the  only  Ruler  of  princes,  who  dost  from  Thy  throne 
behold  all  the  dwellers  Tipon  earth,  most  heartily  we  beseech  Thee 
with  Thy  favor  to  behold  oitr  most  gracious  Sovereign  Lady  Qireen 
Victoria,  and  so  replenish  her  with  the  grace  of  Thy  Holy  Spirit 
that  she  may  always  incline  to  Thy  will  and  walk  in  Thy  way ;  en- 


PAEADE    OiS"    THE    ALAMEDA.  45 

due  her  plenteously  with  heavenly  gifts  ;  grant  her  in  health  and 
wealth  long  to  live ;  strengthen  her  that  she  may  vanquish  and 
overcome  all  her  enemies  ;  and  finally,  after  this  life,  she  may  at- 
tain everlasting  joy  and  felicity,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord ! 
Amen. 

The  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and 
the  fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  us  all  evermore  !  Amen. 

The  service  ended,  the  Governor,  dismounting  from 
his  horse,  took  the  place  of  the  Bishop  in  a  service  which 
had  a  sacred  as  well  as  patriotic  character.  Two  of- 
ficers, the  youngest  of  the  Regiment,  advancing,  surren- 
dered the  old  flags,  which  liad  been  carried  for  so  many 
years  and  through  so  many  wars,  and  then  each  bend- 
ing on  one  knee,  received  from  his  hands  the  new  colors 
which  were  to  have  a  like  glorious  history.  As  they  rose 
from  their  knees,  the  Governor  remounted  his  horse, 
and  from  the  saddle  delivered  an  address  as  full  of 
patriotic  sentiment,  of  loyalty  to  the  Queen  and  country, 
and  as  spirit-stirring  to  the  brave  men  before  him,  as  if 
they  were  to  be  summoned  to  immediate  battle.  With 
that  he  turned  and  galloped  off  the  ground,  while  the 
Regiment  unfurling  its  new  standards,  with  drums  beat- 
ing and  band  playing,  marched  proudly  away. 

As  it  wound  up  the  height,  the  long  scarlet  line  had  a 
most  picturesque  effect.  It  has  been  objected  to  these 
brilliant  uniforms  that  they  make  the  soldiers  too  conspic- 
uous a  mark  for  the  sharpshooters  of  the  enemy.  But, 
however  it  may  be  in  war,  nothing  can  be  finer  on  pa- 


46  GIBRALTAR. 

racle.  Onr  modern  architects  and  decorators,  who  attach 
so  much  importance  to  color,  and  insist  that  everything, 
from  cottage  to  castle,  should  be  "picked  out  in  red," 
would  have  been  in  ecstasies  at  the  colors  which  that  day 
gleamed  among  the  rocks  and  trees  of  Gibraltar, 

Indeed,  if  you  should  happen  to  be  sauntering  on  the 
Alameda  just  at  evening,  as  the  sunset-gun  is  fired,  and 
should  look  upward  to  see  the  smoke  curling  aM-ay,  you 
might  see  above  it  a  gathering  of  black  clouds — the  sure 
sign  of  the  coming  of  the  terrible  East  wind  known  as 
the  "Levanter";  and  if  at  the  same  moment  the  after- 
glow of  the  dying  day  should  touch  a  group  of  soldiere 
standing  on  the  mountain's  crest  (where  colors  could  be 
clearly  distinguished  even  if  figures  were  confused),  it 
mio-ht  seem  as  if  that  last  crleam  under  the  shadow  of  the 
clouds  were  itself  the  red  cross  of  England  soaring  against 
a  dark  and  storm}'  sky. 

This  was  the  brilliant  side  of  war :  pity  that  there 
should  be  another  side  !  But  the  next  day,  walking  near 
the  barracks,  I  met  a  company  with  reversed  arms  bear- 
ing the  body  of  a  comrade  to  the  grave.  There  was  no 
funeral  pomp,  no  waving  plumes  nor  roll  of  muffled 
drums:  for  it  was  only  a  common  soldier,  who  might 
have  fallen  on  any  field,  and  be  buried  where  he  fell,  with 
not  a  stone  to  mark  his  resting-place.  But  for  all  that,  he 
may  have  been  a  true  hero  ;  for  it  is  such  as  he,  the  un- 
known brave,  who  have  fought  all  the  battles  and  gained 
all  the  victories  of  the  world. 


PAEADE    OlSr    THE    ALAMEDA.  47 

Turning  from  this  scene,  I  thouglit  how  hard  was  the 
fate  of  the  English  soldier :  to  be  an  exile  from  the  land 
of  his  birth,  "  a  man  without  a  country" ;  who  may  be  or- 
dered to  any  part  of  the  world  (for  such  is  the  stern  ne- 
cessity, if  men  are  to  defend  "  an  Empire  on  which  tlie 
sun  never  sets");  serving  in  many  lands,  yet  with  a  home 
in  none  ;  to  sleep  at  last  in  a  nameless  grave  !  Such  has 
been  the  fate  of  many  of  that  gallant  regiment  which  I 
saw  marching  so  proudly  yesterday.  Their  next  cam- 
paign may  be  in  Central  Asia,  fighting  the  Russians  in 
Afghanistan,  amid  the  snows  of  the  Himalayas,  If  so,  I 
fear  it  may  be  said  of  them  with  sad,  prophetic  truth,  as 
they  go  into  battle : 

"Ah  !  few  shall  part  where  many  meet ; 
The  snow  shall  be  their  winding-sheet  j 
And  every  turf  beneath  their  feet 
Shall  be  a  soldier's  sepulchre." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SOCIETY  IN  GIBRALTAR. 

THE  best  thing  that  I  find  in  any  place  is  the  men  that 
are  in  it.  Strong  walls  and  high  towers  are  grand, 
but  after  a  while  they  oppress  me  by  their  very  massive- 
ness,  unless  animated  by  a  living  presence.  Even  the 
great  guns,  those  hnge  monsters  that  frown  over  the  ram- 
parts, would  lose  their  majesty  and  terror,  if  there  were 
not  brave  men  behind  them.  And  so,  after  I  had  sur- 
veyed Gibraltar  from  every  point  of  land  and  sea ;  after 
I  had  been  round  about  it,  and  marked  well  its  towers  and 
its  bulwarks;  to  complete  the  enjoyment  I  had  but  one 
wish — to  sit  down  in  some  quiet  nook  and  talk  it  all  over. 
There  is  no  man  in  the  world  whom  I  respect  more  than 
an  old  soldier.  He  is  the  embodiment  of  courage  and  of 
all  manly  qualities,  and  he  lias  given  his  life  to  his  coun- 
try. And  if  he  bears  in  his  person  the  scars  of  honorable 
wounds,  I  look  up  to  him  with  a  feeling  of  veneration. 
Of  such  characters  no  place  has  more  than  Gibraltar, 
which  perhaps  may  be  considered  the  centre  of  the  mili- 
tary life  of  England.  True,  the  movements  of  the  Army 
are  directed  by  orders  from  the  Horse  Guards  in  London. 


SOCIETY    IN    GIBRALTAR.  49 

But  here  the  military  feature  is  the  predominant,  if  not 
the  exdusive,  one;  while  in  London  a  few  thousand 
troops  would  be  lost  in  a  city  of  five  millions  of  inhabi- 
tants. Here  the  outward  and  visible  sign  is  ever  be- 
fore you:  regiments  whose  names  are  historical,  are 
always  coming  and  going;  and  if  you  are  interested  in  the 
history  of  modern  wars,  (as  who  can  fail  to  be,  since  it  is 
a  part  of  the  history  of  our  times  ?)  you  may  not  only 
read  about  them  in  the  Garrison  Library,  but  see  the  very 
men  that  have  fought  in  them.  Here  is  a  column  coming 
up  the  street !  I  look  at  its  colors,  and  read  the  name  of 
a  regiment  already  familiar  through  the  English  papers ; 
that  has  shown  the  national  pluck  and  endurance  in 
penetrating  an  African  forest  or  an  Indian  jungle,  or  in 
climbing  the  Khyber  Pass  in  the  Himalayas  to  settle  ac- 
counts with  the  Emir  of  Cabul.  There  must  be  strange 
meetings  of  old  comrades  here,  as  well  as  new  companion- 
ships formed  between  those  who  have  fought  under  the 
same  royal  standard,  though  in  different  parts  of  the 
world.  A  regiment  recalled  from  Halifax  is  quartered 
near  another  just  returned  from  ISTatal  or  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope ;  while  troops  from  Hong  Kong,  or  that  have 
been  up  the  Irrawaddi  to  take  part  in  the  late  war  in 
Upper  Burmah,  can  exchange  experiences  with  their 
brother  soldiers  from  the  other  side  of  the  globe.  Almost 
all  the  regiments  collected  here  have  figured  in  distant 
campaigns,  and  the  officers  that  ride  at  their  head  are  the 
very  ones  that  led  them  to  victory.     To  a  heart  that  is 


50  GIBEALTAE. 

not  so  dead  but  that  it  can  still  be  stirred  by  deeds  of 
daring,  there  is  nothing  more  thrilling  than  to  sit  under 
the  guns  of  the  greatest  fortress  in  the  world,  and  listen 
to  the  story  as  it  comes  from  the  lips  of  those  who  were 
actors  in  the  scenes. 

But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  society 
of  Gibraltar  is  confined  to  men.  The  home  instincts  are 
strong  in  English  breasts  ;  and  wherever  they  go  they 
carry  their  household  gods  with  them.  In  my  wander- 
ings about  the  world,  it  has  been  my  fortune  to  visit  por- 
tions of  the  British  Empire  ten  thousand  miles  away 
from  the  mother  country  ;  yet  in  every  community  there 
was  an  English  stamp,  a  family  likeness  to  the  old  island 
home.  Hence  it  is  that  in  the  most  remote  colony  there 
are  the  elements  of  a  good  society.  A¥hatever  country 
the  English  may  enter,  even  if  it  be  in  the  Antipodes,  as 
soon  as  they  have  taken  root  and  become  established  they 
send  back  to  England  for  their  wives  and  daughters,  that 
they  may  renew  the  happy  life  that  they  have  lived  be- 
fore, so  that  the  traveller  who  penetrates  the  interior  of 
Australia,  of  New  Zealand,  or  Yan  Dieman's  Land,  is  sur- 
prised to  find,  even  "in  the  bush,"  the  refinement  of  an 
English  home. 

This  instinct  is  not  lost,  even  when  they  are  in  camps 
or  barracks.  If  you  visit  a  "cantonment"  in  Upper  In- 
dia, you  will  find  the  officers  with  their  families  about 
them.  The  brave-hearted  English  women  "  follow  the 
drum "  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  :  and  I  have  sometimes 


SOCIETY    IN    GIBRALTAR.  51 

thought  that  their  husbands  and  brothers  owed  part  of 
their  indomitable  resolution  to  the  inspiration  of  their 
wives  and  sisters. 

It  is  this  feature  of  garrison  life,  this  union  of  "fair 
women  and  brave  men,"  which  gives  such  a  charm  to 
the  society  of  Gibraltar — a  union  which  is  more  complete 
here  than  in  most  garrison  towns,  because  the  troops  stay 
longer,  and  there  is  more  opportunity  for  that  home-life 
which  strangers  would  hardly  believe  to  exist.  Most 
travellers  see  nothing  of  it.  Indeed  it  is  probable  that 
they  hardly  think  of  Gibraltar  as  having  any  home-life, 
since  its  population  is  always  on  the  come  and  go  ;  living 
here  only  as  in  a  camp,  and  to-morrow 

"  FoldiBg  its  tents  like  the  Arabs, 
And  silently  stealing  away." 

This  is  partly  true.  Soldiers  of  course  are  subject  to 
orders,  and  the  necessities  of  war  may  cause  them  to  be 
embarked  at  an  hour's  notice.  But  in  time  of  peace  they 
may  remain  longer  undisturbed.  Regiments  which  have 
done  hard  service  in  India  are  sometimes  left  here  to  re- 
cruit even  for  j^ears,  which  gives  their  officers  opportun- 
ity to  bring  their  families,  whose  presence  makes  Gibral- 
tar seem  like  a  part  of  England  itself,  as  if  it  were  no 
farther  away  than  the  Isle  of  Wight.  This  it  is  which 
makes  life  here  quite  other  than  being  imprisoned  in  a 
fortress.  I  may  perhaps  give  some  glimpses  of  these  in- 
teriors (without  publicity  to  what  is  private  and  sacred), 


52  GIBRALTAK. 

which  I  depict  simply  that  I  may  do  justice  to  a  place  to 
which  I  came  as  a  stranger,  and  from  which  I  depart  as  a 
friend.. 

Just  before  I  left  America,  I  was  present  at  a  breakfast 
given  to  M.  de  Lesseps  on  his  visit  to  America  to  attend 
the  inauguration  of  Bartholdi's  Statue  of  Liberty.  As  I  sat 
opposite  the  "  grand  rran9ais,"  I  turned  the  conversation 
to  Spain,  to  which  I  was  going,  and  where  I  knew  that  he 
had  spent  many  years.  He  took  up  the  subject  M'ith  all 
his  natural  fire,  and  spoke  of  the  country  and  the  people 
in  a  way  to  add  to  my  entliusiasm.  Next  to  him  sat 
Chief  Justice  Daly,  who  kindled  at  the  mention  of  Spain, 
and  almost  "  raved  "  (if  a  learned  Judge  ever  "  raves  ") 
about  Spanish  cathedrals.  He  had  continued  his  journey 
to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  and  said  that  "in  all  his  travels 
he  had  never  spent  a  month  with  more  pleasure  than  in 
Gibraltar."  He  had  come  with  letters  to  the  Governor, 
Lord  JSTapier  of  Magdala,  which  at  once  opened  all  doors 
to  him.  "Wishing  to  smooth  my  path  in  the  same  way, 
the  English  Minister  at  Madrid,  who  had  shown  me  so 
much  courtesy  there,  gave  me  a  letter  to  the  Colonial  Sec- 
retary, Lord  Gifford,  who  received  me  with  the  greatest 
kindness,  and  took  me  in  at  once  to  the  Governor,  who 
Avas  equally  cordial  in  his  welcome. 

The  position  of  Governor  of  Gibraltar  is  one  of  such 
distinction  as  to  be  greatly  coveted  by  officers  in  the  Eng- 
lish army.  It  is  always  bestowed  on  one  of  high  rank, 
and  generally  on  some  old  soldier  who  has  distinguished 


SOCIETY    IlSr    GIBKALTAE.  53 

himself  in  the  field.  Among  the  late  Governors  was  Sir 
Fenwick  Williams,  who,  with  only  a  garrison  of  Turks, 
under  the  command  of  four  or  five  English  officers,  de- 
fended Tvars,  the  capital  of  Armenia,  in  1855,  repelling  an 
assault  by  the  Russians  wlien  they  endeavored  to  take  it 
by  storm,  and  yielding  at  last  only  to  famine ;  and  Lord 
Napier  of  Magdala,  who,  born  in  Ceylon,  spent  the  earlier 
part  of  his  military  life  in  India,  where  he  fought  in  the 
Great  Mutiny,  and  distinguished  himself  at  Lucknow. 
Ten  years  later  he  led  an  English  army  (though  composed 
largely  of  Indian  troops,  with  the  Oriental  accompaniment 
of  guns  and  baggage-trains  carried  on  the  backs  of  camels 
and  elephants)  into  Abyssinia,  and  took  the  capital  in  an 
assault  in  which  King  John  was  slain,  and  the  mission- 
aries and  others,  whom  he  had  long  held  as  prisoners  and 
captives,  were  rescued.  He  was  afterward  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces  in  India,  and,  when  he  retired  from 
that,  no  position  was  thought  more  worthy  of  his  rank 
and  services  than  that  of  Governor  of  Gibraltar,  a  fit  ter- 
mination to  his  long  and  honored  career. 

The  present  Governor  is  a  worthy  successor  to  this 
line  of  distinguished  men.  Sir  Arthur  Hardinge  is 
the  son  of  Lord  Hardinge,  who  commanded  the  army 
in  India  a  generation  ago.  Brought  up  as  it  were  in  a 
camp,  he  was  bred  as  a  soldier,  and  when  little  more  than 
a  boy  accompanied  his  father  to  the  wars,  serving  as  aide- 
de-camp  through  the  Sutlej  campaign  in  1845-46,  and 
was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  in  some  hard-fought  battles, 


54  GIBRALTAR. 

in  one  of  which,  at  Ferozeshah,  he  had  a  horse  shot  un- 
der him.  When  the  Crimean  War  broke  out  he  was  or- 
dered to  the  field,  and  served  in  the  campaign  of  1854^55, 
being  at  the  Alma  and  at  Inkerman,  and  remaining  to  the 
close  of  the  siege  of  Sebastopol.  Here  he  had  rapid  pro- 
motion, besides  receiving  numerous  decorations  from  the 
Turkish  Government,  and  being  made  Knight  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor.  Returning  to  England,  he  seems  to 
have  been  a  favorite  at  court  and  at  the  Horse  Guards, 
being  made  Knight  Commander  of  the  Batli,  honorary 
Colonel  of  the  King's  Royal  Rifle  Corps,  and  Extra 
Equerry  to  the  Queen,  his  honors  culminating  in  his  pres- 
ent high  position  of  Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  of 
Gibraltar. 

The  politeness  of  the  Governor  did  not  end  with  his 
first  welcome:  it  was  followed  by  an  invitation  to  his  New 
Year's  Reception.  It  was  but  a  few  weeks  since  he  had 
taken  office ;  and,  wishing  to  do  a  courtesy  to  the  citizens 
of  Gibraltar  as  well  as  to  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  both 
were  included  in  the  invitation.  The  Government  House 
was  the  one  place  where  all — soldiers  and  civilians— could 
meet  on  common  ground,  and  form  the  acquaintance,  and 
cultivate  the  friendly  feeling,  so  important  to  the  happi- 
ness of  a  community  shut  up  within  the  limits  of  a  fort- 
ress. Although  I  was  a  stranger,  the  Consul  desired  me 
to  attend,  as  it  would  give  me  the  opportunity  to  see  in 
a  familiar  way  the  leading  men  of  Gibraltar,  civil  and 
military,  and  further,  as,  owing  to  the  recent  death  of  his 


SOCIETY    IN    GIBRALTAK.  55 

son,  he  could  not  be  present  nor  any  of  his  family,  so  that 
I  should  be  the  only  representative  of  our  country. 

It  was  indeed  a  notable  occasion.  The  Government 
House  is  an  old  Convent,  which  still  retains  its  ancient 
and  venerable  look,  though  the  flag  floating  over  it,  and 
the  sentry  marching  up  and  down  before  the  door,  tell 
that  it  is  now  the  seat  of  English  power.  To-night  it 
took  on  its  most  festive  appearance,  entrance  and  stairway 
being  hung  with  flags,  embowered  in  palms,  and  wreathed 
with  vines  and  ferns  and  flowers ;  and  when  the  oflicers 
appeared  in  their  uniforms,  and  the  military  band  filled 
the  place  with  stirring  music,  it  was  a  brilliant  scene. 

The  gathering  was  in  a  large  hall,  part  of  which  was 
turned  to  a  purpose  which  to  some  must  have  seemed 
strangely  incongruous  with  the  sacred  associations  of  the 
place  :  for  in  the  old  Spanish  days  this  was  a  Convent  of 
the  Franciscan  Friars,  who,  if  they  ever  revisit  the  place 
of  their  former  habitation,  must  have  been  shocked  to 
find  their  chapel  turned  into  a  place  for  music  and  danc- 
ing, and  to  hear  the  "  sound  of  revelry  by  night,"  where 
they  were  wont  to  say  midnight  mass,  and  to  offer  pray- 
ers for  the  quick  and  dead ! 

While  this  was  going  on  in  one  part  of  the  hall,  at  the 
other  end  the  Governor  sat  on  a  dais,  quietly  enjoying 
the  meeting  of  old  friends  and  the  making  of  new 
ones.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  one  of  the  group, 
which  gave  me  the  best  possible  opportunity  to  see  the 
society  of  Gibraltar :  for  here  it  was  all  gathered  under 


56  GIBRALTAE. 

one  roof.  Of  course  it  was  chiefly  military.  There  was  a 
brilliant  array  of  officers — generals,  colonels,  and  majors ; 
while  in  still  larger  number  were  captains  and  lieuten- 
ants, in  their  gay  uniforms,  who,  if  they  did  not  exactly 
realize  my  idea  of 

"  Whiskered  Pandours  and  fierce  Hussars," 

looked  like  the  brave  and  gallant  Englishmen  they  were. 
Nor  were  they  alone  :  for  there  were  civilians  also — mag- 
istrates and  lawyers  and  judges;  and,  better  still,  the 
lovely  English  women,  who  are  the  ornament  of  every 
English  colony.  All  received  me  with  a  manner  so  cor- 
dial as  assured  me  that  I  was  not  to  be  treated  M'ith  cold 
formality  as  a  stranger.  If  I  had  come  into  a  camp  of 
American  officers,  I  could  not  have  had  a  more  hearty 
welcome. 

At  length  the  clock  struck  the  hour  of  midnight,  and  I 
rose  to  take  leave  of  the  Governor;  but  he  answered, 
"  No,  that  will  never  do ;  you  must  take  a  lady  out  to 
supper."  Being  under  military  orders,  I  could  but  obey, 
and,  essaying  for  the  first  time  the  part  of  a  Spanish  cav- 
alier, conducted  a  Spanish  lady  into  the  dining-hall.  This 
is  a  historical  apartment,  in  which  have  been  feted  all  the 
royalties  that  have  visited  Gibraltar.  On  the  M-alls  are 
hung  the  portraits  of  the  Governors  from  the  beginning 
of  the  English  occupation  in  1704,  among  which  every 
visitor  looks  for  that  of  "  Old  Eliott,"  the  defender  of 
the  place  in  the  great  siege.     lie  was  followed  by  a  long 


SOCIETY    IN    GIBKALTAE,  57 

succession  of  brave  men,  who,  in  keeping  Gibraltar,  felt 
they  were  guarding  the  honor  of  England. 

After  this  pleasant  duty  had  been  performed,  I  re- 
turned to  the  Governor  to  "  report "  that  "  I  had  obeyed 
his  orders,"  and  that  "  in  taking  leave,  I  could  only  ex- 
press the  wish  that  Gibraltar  might  never  be  attacked  in 
any  other  way  than  it  had  been  that  evening,"  adding 
that  "if  he  should  treat  all  my  countrymen  as  he  had 
treated  me,  I  could  promise  him  on  their  part,  as  on  mine, 
an  unconditional  surrender !  " 

Thus  introduced,  I  found  myself  at  home  in  a  circle 
which  included  men  who  had  seen  service  in  all  parts  of 
the  world,  l^ext  to  the  Governor  I  was  attracted  by  a 
grand  old  officer  whom  I  had  observed  on  the  parade,  his 
breast  being  covered  with  decorations  won  in  many  wars. 
This  was  Major-General  Walker,  who  has  been  in  the 
army  for  a  large  part  of  tlie  reign  of  Queen  Victoria.  As 
long  ago  as  the  Anglo-Russian  war,  he  was  an  adjutant  in 
one  of  the  regiments  sent  to  the  Crimea,  where  he  fought 
at  the  Alma  and  at  Inkerman,  and  took  part  in  the  long 
siege  of  Sebastopol.  Eager  to  be  in  the  post  of  danger, 
he  volunteered  for  a  night  attack,  in  which  he  led  a  party 
that  took  and  destroyed  a  Russian  rifle-pit.  Soon  after 
he  was  dangerously  wounded  in  the  trenches,  and  his  right 
arm  amputated,  for  which  he  was  promoted  and  received 
a  number  of  decorations.  He  afterward  served  through- 
out the  campaign  of  1860,  in  China.* 

*  War  Services  of  General  Officers,  in  Hart's  Annual  Army  List  for  1883. 


58  GIBRALTAR. 

Lord  Gifford,  though  too  young  for  service  dating  so  far 
back,  and  of  such  slender  figure  that  he  looks  more  like  a 
university  student  than  like  a  soldier,  was  the  hero  of  the 
Ashantee  War,  who  led  his  men  through  forest  and  jungle, 
in  the  face  of  the  savage  foe,  to  the  capture  of  Coomassie, 
for  which  he  received  the  Victoria  Cross,  the  proud  dis- 
tinction of  a  British  soldier. 

A  little  volume  published  in  England,  entitled  "The 
Victoria  Cross  in  the  Colonies,"  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Knollys,  F.E..G.S.,  gives  the  following  sketch  of  this  gal- 
lant officer. 

"  The  hero  of  the  Ashantee  War,  1873-74,  was  undoubtedly 
Ederic,  third  Baron  Gifford.  Born  in  1849,  he  entered  the  Eighty- 
third  Regiraent  as  ensign  in  1869,  became  lieutenant  the  follow- 
ing year,  and  in  1873  was  transferred  to  the  Twenty-fourth  Regi- 
ment. He  was  one  of  the  body  of  volunteers  who  accompanied 
Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  to  the  Gold  Coast.  Appointed  to  train  and 
command  the  Winnebeh  company  of  Russell's  native  regiment,  he 
took  part  in  the  defence  of  Absacampa  and  the  defeat  of  the  Ash- 
antee army.  He  subsequently,  for  several  weeks,  performed  the 
duties  of  adjutant  to  Russell's  regiment.  When  the  Ashantee  ter- 
ritory was  invaded,  to  Lord  Gifford  was  assigned  the  command  of 
a  scouting  party.  This  party  was  fifty  strong,  and  composed  of 
men  from  the  "West  India  Regiment  of  Houssas,  Kossos,  and 
Bonny  natives. 

"  Early  on  the  morning  of  January  6th,  1874,  Gifford,  with 
his  scouts,  crossed  the  Prah  in  canoes,  and  explored  the  coun- 
try on  both  sides  of  the  road  to  Coomassie.  The  rest  of  the 
army  crossed  by  the  bridge  the  same  day.  Marching  some  five 
miles  ahead  of  the  advance  guard,  he  reached  a  village  called  Es- 
siaman,  and  found  that  it  was  occupied  by  an  Ashantee  detach- 
ment, which,  on  advancing,  he  at  once  attacked  and  put  to  flight, 
losing  only  one  man  severely  wounded.    Advancing  to  a  village 


SOCIETY    IN    GIBRALTAR.  59 

called  Akrofumin,  he  discovered  that  it  was  held  by  the  Ashan- 
tees  ;  but  not  being  able  to  ascertain  their  strength,  which  he  be- 
lieved to  be  superior  to  his  own,  he  prudently  contented  himself 
with  observing  them. 

"After  remaining  in  this  critical  position  for  several  days,  he 
had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  enemy  retire.  He  then  pushed 
on — indeed  never  left  oflf  pushing  on  in  the  most  daring  yet  skil- 
ful manner  till  Coomassie  was  reached — always  keeping  well 
ahead.  His  scouts  were  devoted  to  Lord  Giflford,  'whose  docile 
savages,'  writes  an  historian  of  the  campaign,  'worshipijed  the 
English  gentleman  for  his  superior  skill  and  spirit  in  climbing 
that  steep  barrier  range,  the  Adansi  Hills,  dividing  the  Assin  from 
the  Ashantee  country.  The  night  previous  to  the  action  at  Amoa- 
ful,  he  carefully  reconnoitred  the  enemy's  position,  and  during  the 
fight  he  was,  with  his  gallant  little  band,  as  usual,  well  in  advance. 

"  The  next  day  he  was  sent  to  reconnoitre  the  village  of  Bec- 
qua.  He  had  got  close  up  when  some  twenty  Ashantees  sprang 
up  in  the  bush  and  fired,  but  providentially  without  efiect.  On 
receipt  of  his  report  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  desi^atched  a  strong 
force  to  capture  the  place.  Gifi'ord's  scouts  led,  followed  by  a 
body  of  Houssas,  Eussell's  Eegiment,  and  the  Naval  Brigade,  the 
Forty-second  Highlanders,  and  a  company  of  the  Twenty-third 
Royal  Welsh  Fusileers  acting  as  supports.  As  soon  as  the  firing 
began,  Gifford,  followed  by  his  handful  of  scouts,  rushed  on,  and 
dashed  into  the  town,  though  it  was  occupied  by  a  thousand  Ash- 
antees. The  Houssas,  for  once,  could  not  be  induced  to  charge ; 
they  persisted  in  lying  down  and  firing  unaimed  shots  into  the 
bush. 

"  In  the  meantime  Lord  Giflford  and  his  party  were  exposed  to 
the  concentrated  fire  of  the  defenders.  His  best  scout  was  killed, 
and  he  and  all  his  men  were  wounded.  In  fact,  he  was  in  an 
almost  desperate  situation.  On  this  he  shouted  to  the  Naval  Bri- 
gade to  come  to  his  assistance.  With  a  cheer  the  gallant  fellows 
replied  to  the  appeal,  and  at  their  charge  the  enemy  fled. 

"Three  days  later  the  action  of  Ordahsu  took  place,  Coomassie 
was  entered,  and  the  campaign  was  virtually  at  an  end. 

"From  that  time  Lord  Gifford,  there  being  no  further  need  for 
his  services  as  a  scout,  acted  as  aide-de-camp  to  Sir  Garnet  Wolse- 


60  GIBKALTAR. 

ley.  During  the  -wliole  war  this  young,  slight,  modest-looking  lad 
had  displayed  the  greatest  enterprise  and  intrejiidity,  and  rendered 
the  most  valuable  services.  Fortune  had  in  this  case  certainly 
favored  the  brave;  for  notwithstanding  unremitting  exertions  and 
constant  exposure  both  to  climate  and  the  bullets  of  the  enemy, 
he  escaped  disease,  and  was  only  once  wounded.  Modest  as  he 
was  brave,  he  never  sought  to  make  capital  out  of  his  exploits. 
They  were,  however,  too  conspicuous  to  escape  notice,  and  he  M'as 
repeatedly  mentioned  in  despatches. 

"On  his  return  to  England,  he  paid  a  visit  to  his  regiment,  the 
Twenty-fourth,  then  stationed  at  Aldershot.  He  was  received 
with  the  greatest  enthusiasm  by  both  men  and  officers.  The  for- 
mer carried  him  shotilder-high  into  camp,  and  the  latter  enter- 
tained him  at  dinner ;  yet  he  was  as  unaffected  and  simjile  as  if  he 
had  only  returned  from  an  ordinary  duty.  For  his  daring  con- 
duct on  the  Gold  Coast  he  was  granted  the  Victoria  Cross." 

It  was  a  privilege  to  spend  an  hour  with  General 
AValker  at  his  own  table,  and  to  draw  him  into  conversa- 
tion on  the  wars  in  which  he  had  taken  part,  and  the  great 
soldiers  who  had  been  his  companions  in  arms.  Of  his 
own  part  in  these  events  he  spoke  very  modestly,  like  the 
true  soldier  that  he  is ;  though  no  modesty  could  hide  the 
story  told  by  that  empty  sleeve  of  the  arm  that  he  had 
left  in  the  trenches  at  Sebastopol.  From  the  South- 
eastern corner  of  Europe  to  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia,  is 
a  long  stretch  round  the  globe,  but  here,  when  the  scene 
of  war  was  transferred  from  Russia  to  China,  we  find  the 
same  gallant  officer  among  the  foremost  in  the  storming 
of  the  Taku  forts,  and  with  the  combined  French  and 
English  army  that  fought  its  way  to  Peking. 

As  the  house  of  the  Major  General  stands  on  the  Line- 


SOCIETY    IN    GIBEALTAE.  61 

Wall,  it  is  close  to  the  enormous  batteries  in  the  case- 
mates below,  (while  one  of  the  hundred-ton  guns  is 
mounted  near  the  Alameda,  quite  "  within  speaking  dis- 
tance,") and  must  be  rudely  rocked  by  the  thunder  which 
shakes  even  the  solid  ground  like  an  earthquake.  "What 
do  you  do  at  such  a  time  ? "  I  asked  of  the  ladies  of  the 
family,  to  which  they  answered  gayly,  "  Oh,  we  don't 
mind  it."  They  took  good  care,  however,  to  take  down 
their  mirrors,  and  to  lay  away  their  glass  and  china,  lest 
they  should  be  shattered  in  pieces.  Then  they  threw 
open  their  windows,  and  let  the  explosion  come.  For  me 
this  would  be  a  trifle  too  near,  and  with  all  my  love  for 
Gibraltar,  I  do  not  think  I  should  choose  a  hundred-ton 
gun  as  a  next-door  neighbor. 

As  I  rose  to  leave,  I  found  horses  saddled  and  bridled 
at  the  door,  on  which  the  General  and  his  niece  were 
about  to  take  their  afternoon  ride,  for  the  officers  in  Gib- 
raltar are  not  so  shut  up  within  its  walls,  that  they  cannot 
take  their  pleasure  as  if  they  were  in  the  field.  True,  the 
Rock  does  not  offer  a  very  wide  space  for  excursions,  but 
the  gay  troopers  of  both  sexes  have  but  to  ride  out  of  the 
Northern  gate,  and  cross  the  Spanish  lines,  and  the  whole 
country  is  before  them.  One  day  I  met  the  Governor 
coming  in  at  full  speed,  with  his  staff  behind  him  ;  and 
almost  daily  there  are  riding  parties  or  hunting  parties, 
which  go  off  for  hours,  and  come  back  with  the  ruddy 
English  glow  of  health  upon  their  faces. 

Indeed  if  one  had  to  go  about  on  foot,  he  need  not  feel 


62  GIBRALTAR, 

as  if  he  were  shut  up  in  a  fortress-prison,  for  there  are 
pleasant  walks  over  the  Rock,  leading  to  many  a  nook, 
from  which  one  may  look  off  upon  the  sea,  where,  if  he 
has  an  agreeable  companion,  the  hours  will  not  seem  long. 
If  for  a  few  months  the  climate  has  a  little  too  much  of 
the  warmth  of  Africa,  there  is  a  delightful  promenade 
along  the  Alameda,  where  friends  may  saunter  on  sum- 
mer evenings,  inhaling  the  fresh  breezes ;  or  sit  under 
the  trees,  and  (as  they  listen  to  the  bands  playing  the 
familiar  airs  of  England)  talk  of  their  dear  native  island. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    GREAT    SIEGE. 

A  LTHOUGH  Gibraltar  is  the  greatest  fortress  in  the 
world,  if  it  were  only  that,  it  would  not  have  half 
the  interest  which  it  now  has.  The  supreme  interest  of 
the  Rock  is  in  the  record  of  centuries  that  is  graven  on  its 
rugged  front.  For  nearly  eight  hundred  years  it  was  the 
prize  of  war  between  the  Spaniard  and  the  Moor,  and  its 
legends  are  all  of  battle  and  of  blood.  Ten  times  it  was 
besieged  and  passed  back  and  forth  from  conqueror  to 
conqueror,  the  Cross  replacing  the  Crescent,  and  the  Cres- 
cent the  Cross.  Ten  times  was  the  battle  lost  and  won. 
When,  at  last,  in  1598  the  Spaniards  drove  the  Moors  out 
of  Spain,  they  remained  masters  of  Gibraltar,  and  held  it 
with  undisputed  sway  for  a  little  more  than  a  hundred 
years.  They  might  have  held  it  still  but  for  a  surprise, 
hardly  worthy  to  be  called  a  siege ;.  for  the  place  was 
taken  by  a  coiij)  de  main,  that  is  one  of  the  strangest  in- 
cidents of  history.  It  was  the  "War  of  the  Spanish  Suc- 
cession, waged  by  half  Europe  to  determine  which  of  two 
incompetents  should  occupy  the  throne  of  Spain.  The 
English  sent  a  squadron  into  the  Mediterranean,  under  Sir 


64  GIBEALTAK, 

George  Rooke,  who,  after  cruising  about  and  accomplish- 
ing little,  bethought  himself,  in  order  not  to  return  in  com- 
plete failure,  to  try  his  hand  on  Gibraltar.  The  place  was 
well  fortified,  with  a  hundred  guns,  but  inside  the  walls 
only  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  (a  man  and  a  half  to  a 
gun !),  so  that  it  could  offer  but  a  brief  resistance  to  a 
bombardment,  and  thus  the  Spaniards  lost  in  three  days 
what  they  spent  more  than  three  years  to  recover,  and 
spent  in  vain. 

Though  the  place  was  taken  by  an  English  fleet,  it  was 
not  taken  for  England,  but  in  the  name  of  an  Archduke 
of  Austria,  whom  England  supported  as  a  pretender  to 
the  Spanish  throne ;  and  had  he  succeeded  in  gaining  it 
the  place  would  doubtless  have  been  turned  over  to  him 
(as  on  a  visit  to  Gibraltar  he  was  received  by  the  garrison 
as  lawful  sovereign  of  Spain,  and  proclaimed  King  by  the 
title  of  Charles  111.),  but  as  he  was  finally  defeated,  Eng- 
land thought  it  not  a  bad  thing  to  keep  the  place  for 
herself. 

Hardly  had  it  slipped  from  their  hands  before  the 
Spaniards  realized  the  tremendous  blow  which  had  been 
given  to  their  power  and  their  pride,  and  made  desper- 
ate endeavors  to  recover  it.  The  very  same  year  they 
attacked  it  with  a  large  army  and  fleet.  At  the  begin- 
ning an  attempt  was  made  which  would  seem  to  have  been 
conceived  in  the  heroism  of  despair.  The  eastern  side  of 
Gibraltar  terminates  in  a  tremendous  cliff,  rising  fourteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  which  thunders  against  the 


CATALAN   BAY,   ON  THE   EAST  SIDE  OF  GIBRALTAR. 
[Cliff  Scaled  by  the  Spaniards  in  an  Attempt  to  Take  the  Rock  by  Surprise.] 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  65 

rocks  below.  This  side  has  never  been  fortified,  for  the 
reason  that  it  is  so  defended  by  nature  that  it  needs  no 
other  defence.  One  would  as  soon  think  of  storming  El 
Capitan  in  the  valley  of  the  Yosemite  as  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar.  Yet  he  who  has  followed  a 
Swiss  guide  in  the  Alps  knows  that  with  his  cool  head  and 
agile  step  he  will  climb  heights  which  seemed  inaccessible. 
And  so  a  Spanish  shepherd,  or  goatherd,  had  found  a  path 
from  Catalan  Bay,  up  which  he  offered  to  lead  a  party 
to  the  top,  and  five  hundred  men  were  daring  enough  to 
follow  him.  They  knew  that  the  attempt  was  desperate, 
but  braced  up  their  courage  by  religious  enthusiasm,  devot- 
ing themselves  to  the  sacrifice  by  taking  the  sacrament,  and 
binding  themselves  to  capture  Gibraltar  or  perish  in  the 
attempt.  In  the  darkness  and  silence  of  the  night  they 
crept  slowly  upward  till  a  part  had  reached  the  top,  and 
concealed  themselves  in  St.  Michael's  Cave  until  the  break 
of  day ;  when  with  the  earliest  dawn  they  attacked  the 
Signal  Station,  killing  the  guard,  and  then  by  ropes  and 
ladders  brought  up  the  rest  of  the  party.  Following  up 
the  momentary  success,  they  stormed  the  wall  of  Charles 
v.,  so  called  because  constructed  by  him.  But  by  this 
time  the  garrison  had  been  awakened  to  the  fact  that  there 
was  an  enemy  within  the  walls.  The  roll  of  drums  from 
below  summoned  the  troops  to  arms,  and  soon  the  grena- 
diers came  rushing  up  the  hill.  Exposed  to  the  fire  from 
above,  many  fell,  but  nothing  could  check  their  advance, 

and  reaching  the  top  they  charged  with  such  fury  that 
5 


66  GIBRALTAE. 

half  of  the  party  that  had  scaled  the  heights  soon  fell, 
some  of  whom  were  driven  over  the  cliff  into  the  sea.  An 
officer  who  was  present  during  the  whole  of  the  siege  tells 
how  they  made  short  work  of  it.  "  Five  hundred  Span- 
iards attacked  the  Middle  Hill  but  were  soon  repulsed, 
and  two  hundred  men  with  their  commanding  officer 
taken.  The  rest  were  killed  by  our  shot,  or  in  making 
their  escape  broke  their  necks  over  the  rocks  and  preci- 
pices, which  in  that  place  are  many  and  prodigiously  high." 

So  ended  the  first  and  last  attempt  to  take  Gibraltar  in 
the  rear.  But  still  the  Spanish  army  lay  encamped  be- 
fore the  town,  and  the  siege  was  kept  up  for  six  months 
with  a  loss  of  ten  thousand  men.  No  other  attack  was 
made  during  that  war,  though  the  war  itself  raged  else- 
where for  seven  years  more,  till  it  was  closed  by  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht,  in  which  Gibraltar  was  finally  ceded  to  Great 
Britain. 

But  the  Spaniards  did  not  give  it  up  yet.  In  1727  they 
renewed  the  struggle,  and  besieged  the  place  for  five 
months  with  nearly  twenty  thousand  men,  but  with  the 
same  result  as  before,  after  which  it  had  rest  and  quiet 
for  half  a  century,  till  the  time  of  the  Great  Siege,  which 
I  am  now  to  describe. 

It  seems  beginning  a  long  way  off  to  find  any  connec- 
tion between  the  siege  of  Gibraltar  and  the  battle  of  Sara- 
toga ;  but  one  followed  from  the  other.  The  surrender  of 
General  Burgoyne  (who  had  marched  from  Canada  with  a 
large  army  to  crush  the  Rebellion  in  the  Colonies)  was  the 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  67 

first  great  event  that  gave  hope,  in  the  eyes  of  Europe, 
to  the  cause  of  American  independence,  and  led  France 
to  join  it  openly,  as  she  had  before  favored  it  secretly, 
Spain  followed  France,  having  a  common  hatred  of  Eng- 
land, with  the  special  grievance  of  the  loss  of  Gibraltar, 
which  she  hoped,  with  the  help  of  her  powerful  ally,  to 
recover. 

In  such  a  contest  the  chances  were  more  evenly  bal- 
anced than  might  be  at  first  supposed.  True,  England 
had  the  advantage  of  possession,  and  if  possession  is  nine 
points  of  the  law,  it  is  more  than  nine  points  in  war,  es- 
pecially when  the  possessor  is  intrenched  in  the  strongest 
fortress  in  the  world.  But  as  an  offset  to  this,  she  had  to 
hold  it  in  an  enemy's  country.  Gibraltar  was  a  part  of 
the  territory  of  Spain,  in  which  the  English  had  not  a 
foot  of  ground  but  the  Rock  on  which  they  stood  ;  while 
it  was  much  nearer  to  France  than  to  England.  Thus  the 
allied  powers  had  facilities  for  attacking  it  both  by  land 
and  sea,  and  brought  against  it  such  tremendous  forces 
that  it  could  not  have  held  out  for  nearly  four  years,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  British  power  of  resistance,  animated 
by  one  of  the  bravest  of  soldiers. 

To  begin  with,  England  did  not  commit  the  folly  by 
which  Spain  had  lost  Gibraltar — in  leaving  it  with  an  in- 
sufficient garrison.  It  had  over  five  thousand  troops  in 
the  fortress — a  force  by  which  it  was  thoroughly  manned. 

But  its  power  for  defence  was  doubled  by  having  a 
commander,  who   was  fitted  by  nature  and  by  training 


68  GIBRALTAR. 

for  the  responsibilities  that  were  to  be  laid  upon  him. 
George  Augustus  Eliott  was  the  son  of  Sir  Gilbert  Eliott, 
of  Roxburghshire,  where  he  was  born  in  1718.  Scotch 
families  in  those  days,  like  those  of  our  New  England 
fathers,  were  apt  to  be  large,  and  the  future  defender  of 
Gibraltar  was  one  of  eleven  children,  of  whom  but  two 
were  daughters,  and  of  the  nine  sons  George  was  the 
youngest.  After  such  education  as  he  could  receive  at 
home,  he  was  sent  to  the  continent,  and  entered  the 
University  of  Leyden,  where,  with  his  other  studies,  he 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  German,  which  was  to  be  of 
practical  use  to  him  afterward,  as  he  was  to  serve  for  a 
year  in  a  German  a,nnj.  But  France  was  the  country 
that  then  took  the  lead  in  the  art  of  war ;  and  from  Hol- 
land he  was  sent  to  a  famous  military  school  in  Picardy, 
founded  by  Yauban,  the  constructor  of  the  French  for- 
tresses, where  he  learned  the  principles  which  he  was  to 
apply  to  the  defence  of  a  greater  fortress  than  any  in 
France.  lie  gave  particular  attention  also  to  the  practice 
of  gunnery.  As  Napoleon  learned  the  art  of  war  in  the 
artillery  school  of  Brienne,  so  did  Eliott  in  the  school  of 
La  Fere.  An  incidental  advantage  of  this  French  educa- 
tion was  that  he  acquired  the  language  so  that  he  could 
speak  it  fluently,  a  knowledge  which  was  of  service  to  him 
afterward  when  he  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  French, 
even  though  it  were  as  enemies. 

From  France  Eliott  travelled  into  other  countries  on  a 
tour  of  military  observation,  and  then  enlisted  for  a  year 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  69 

in  the  Pnissian  army,  which  was  considered  the  model  in 
the  way  of  discipline.  Thus  equipped  for  the  life  of  a 
soldier,  he  returned  to  Scotland,  where  (as  his  father 
wished  that  he  should  be  further  inured  to  the  practice  of 
arms),  he  entered  a  Welsh  regiment  then  in  Edinburgh  as 
a  volunteer,  and  served  with  it  for  a  year,  from  which  he 
went  into  the  engineer  corps  at  Woolwich,  and  then  into 
a  troop  of  "  horse  grenadiers,"  that,  under  his  vigorous 
training,  became  famous  as  a  corps  of  heavy  cavalry. 
When  it  was  ordered  to  the  Continent,  he  went  with  it, 
and  served  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  where  he 
took  part  in  several  engagements  and  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Dettingen, 

In  this  varied  service  Eliott  had  gained  the  reputation 
of  being  a  brave  and  capable  oflScer,  but  had  as  yet  no 
opportunity  to  show  the  extraordinary  ability  which  he 
was  afterward  to  display.  He  had,  however,  acquired 
such  a  mastery  of  the  art  of  war,  that  he  was  fitted  for 
any  position.  In  tliose  days,  however,  promotion  was 
slow,  and  he  had  served  in  the  army  (which  he  entered 
at  the  age  of  seventeen,)  forty  years,  and  was  fifty-seven 
years  old,  and  had  yet  reached  only  the  grade  of  a  Lieuten- 
ant-General,  when,  in  1775,  he  was  placed  in  command  of 
the  fortress  of  Gibraltar.  This  was  four  years  before  the 
siege  began,  by  which  time  he  was  a  little  turned  of  sixty, 
so  that  he  was  familiarly  called  "  Old  Eliott."  But  his 
good  Scotch  frame  did  him  service  now,  for  he  was  hale 
and  strong,  with  a  heart  of  oak  and  a  frame  of  iron ;  ask- 


70  GIBEALTAPv. 

ing  no  indulgence  on  account  of  his  3'ears,  but  ready  to  en- 
dure every  fatigue  and  share  every  danger.  Such  was  the 
man  who  was  to  conduct  the  defence  of  Gibraltar,  and  to 
bo,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  its  very  heart  and 
soul.* 

It  was  in  the  year  1779,  and  on  the  very  longest  day 
of  the  year,  the  21st  of  June,  that  Spain,  by  order  of  the 
King,  severed  all  communication  with  Gibraltar.  But 
this  was  not  Avar ;  it  was  simply  non-intercourse,  and  not 
a  hostile  gun  was  fired  for  months.  It  is  an  awkward 
thing  to  strike  the  first  blow  where  relations  have  been 
friendly.  It  had  long  been  the  custom  of  the  Spaniards 
to  keep  a  regiment  of  cavalry  at  San  Eoque,  and  one  of 
infantry  at  Algeciras,  across  the  bay,  between  which  and 
the  garrison  there  was  a  frequent  exchange  of  military 
courtesies.     Two  days  before  this  abrupt  termination  of 

*Tlie  above  outline  is  derived  chiefly  from  Chalmers'  Bio- 
graphical Dictionary,  a  work  in  thirty-two  octavo  volumes,  pub- 
lished iu  London  more  than  seventy  years  ago  (in  1814).  I  have 
sought  for  fuller  information  from  other  sources,  but  without  re- 
sult. The  "  Encycloppedia  Britannica,"  in  its  article  on  Gibraltar 
refers  to  a  "  Life  of  Eliott,"  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  it 
either  in  the  United  States  or  in  England.  After  a  fruitless  search 
in  the  Astor  Library,  with  the  aid  of  the  Librarian,  I  cabled 
twice  to  London,  the  second  time  directing  that  search  be  made 
in  the  British  Museum,  but  received  reply  that  the  book  could 
not  be  found.  The  American  Consul  at  Gibraltar  writes  me  that 
he  cannot  find  it  there.  Can  it  be  j)ossible  that  there  is  not  in  ex- 
istence any  full  and  authentic  record  of  one  of  the  greatest  heroes 
that  England  has  produced?  Has  such  a  man  no  place  in  English 
history  except  to  furnish  the  subject  of  an  article  in  a  Biographi- 
cal Dictionary  ? 


HALr  ENGLISH  MILE 


Europa  Point 


PLAN  OF  GIBRALTAR. 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  71 

intercourse,  the  Governor  had  been  to  pay  his  respects  to 
General  Mendoza,  and  found  him  very  much  embarrassed 
by  the  visit,  so  that  he  suspected  something  was  wrong, 
and  was  not  surprised  when  the  order  came  down  from 
Madrid  to  cut  off  all  friendly  communication.  The  Span- 
iards had  resolved  to  make  a  fresh  attempt  to  recapture 
Gibraltar,  thinking  at  first  that  it  might  be  done  by  a 
blockade,  without  a  bombardment.  There  are  two  ways 
to  take  a  fortress— by  shot  and  shell,  or  hy  starvation. 
The  latter  may  be  slower  and  not  so  striking  to  the  im- 
agination as  carrying  a  walled  city  by  storm,  but  it  is 
even  more  certain  of  success  if  only  the  operation  can  be 
completely  done.  But  to  this  end  the  place  must  be 
sealed  up  so  tightly  that  there  shall  be  no  going  out  nor 
coming  in.  This  seems  a  very  simple  process,  but  in  ex- 
ecution is  not  so  easy,  especially  if  the  fortress  be  of  large 
extent,  and  has  approaches  by  land  and  sea.  The  Span- 
iards began  with  a  vigor  that  seemed  to  promise  success, 
by  constructing  a  parallel  across  the  isthmus  which  con- 
nects the  Eock  with  the  mainland.  This  was  itself  a 
formidable  undertaking,  but  they  seemed  not  to  care  for 
cost  or  labor.  Putting  ten  thousand  men  at  work,  they 
had  in  a  few  weeks  drawn  a  line  across  the  Neutral 
Ground,  which  rendered  access  to  the  garrison  impossible 
hy  land.     Any  supplies  must  come  hy  sea. 

To  prevent  this,  the  Spaniards  had  a  large  fleet  in  the 
Bay  and  cruising  in  the  Straits.  But  with  all  their  vigi- 
lance, they  found  it  hard  to  keep  a  blockade  of  a  Rock, 


73  GIBRALTAR. 

with  a  circuit  of  seven  miles,  when  there  were  hundreds 
of  eyes  looking  out  from  the  land,  answered  by  hundreds 
of  watchers  from  the  sea.  In  dark  nights  boats  with  muf- 
fled oars  glided  between  the  blockading  ships,  and  stole 
up  to  some  sheltered  nook,  bringing  news  from  the  out- 
side world.  And  there  were  always  daring  cruisers  ready 
to  attempt  to  run  the  blockade,  taking  any  risk  for  the 
sake  of  the  large  reward  in  case  of  success.  Sometimes 
the  weather  would  favor  them.  A  fierce  "  Levanter " 
blowing  from  the  east,  would  drive  off  the  fleet,  and  fill 
the  Straits  with  fog  and  mist,  under  cover  of  which  they 
could  run  in  undiscovered.  At  another  time  a  bold  pri- 
vateer would  come  in,  in  face  of  the  fleet,  and  if  sighted 
and  pursued,  would  set  all  sail,  and  rush  to  destruction 
or  to  victory.  Once  under  the  guns  of  the  fortress  she 
was  safe.  Thus  for  a  time  the  garrison  received  irregu- 
lar supplies.* 

But  in  spite  of  all  it  was  often  in  sore  and  pressing 
need.  The  soldiers  required  to  be  well  fed  to  be  fit  for 
duty,  and  yet  not  infrequently  they  were  half  starved. 
Six  thousand  capacious  mouths  made  havoc  of  provisions, 

*  The  incidents  so  briefly  told  in  the  following  sketch  are  de- 
rived chiefly  from  "A  History  of  the  Siege  of  Gibraltar,"  by 
John  Drinkwater,  a  Captain  in  the  72d  Regiment,  which  fomied 
part  of  the  garrison,  and  who  was  therefore  a  witness  and  an  actor 
in  the  scenes  he  describes.  His  narrative,  though  written  in  the 
plain  style  of  a  soldier,  yet  being  "  compiled  from  observations 
daily  noted  down  upon  the  spot,"  is  invaluable  as  a  minute  and 
faithful  record  of  one  of  the  greatest  events  in  modern  war. 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  73 

and  a  brig-load  was  quickly  consumed.  As  if  this  was 
not  enough,  the  hucksters  of  the  town,  who  had  got  hold 
of  the  necessaries  of  life,  secreted  them  to  create  an  ap- 
pearance of  greater  scarcity,  that  they  might  extort  still 
larger  prices  from  the  famine-stricken  inhabitants.  Drink- 
water,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Siege,"  gives  a  list  of  prices 
actually  paid. 

"The  hind-quarter  of  an  Algerian  sheep,  with  the  head  and 
tail,  was  sold  for  seven  pounds  and  ten  shillings  ;  a  large  sow  for 
upwards  of  twenty-nine  jiounds  ;  a  goat,  with  a  young  kid,  the 
latter  about  twelve  months  old,  for  near  twelve  pounds.  An  Eng- 
lish milch  cow  was  sold  for  fifty  guineas,  reserving  to  the  seller  a 
pint  of  milk  each  day  whilst  she  gave  milk  ;  and  another  cow  was 
purchased  by  a  Jew  for  sixty  guineas,  but  the  beast  was  in  such  a 
feeble  condition  that  she  dropped  down  dead  before  she  had  been 
removed  many  hundred  yards." 

But  it  was  not  only  meat  that  was  wanted  :  bread  was 
so  scarce  that  even  biscuit-crumbs  sold  for  a  shilling  a 
pound !  The  economy  of  flour  was  carried  to  the  most 
minute  details.  It  was  an  old  custom  that  the  soldiers 
who  were  to  mount  guard  should  powder  their  hair,  like 
the  servants  in  the  royal  household ;  but  even  this  had  to 
be  denied  them.  The  Governor  would  not  waste  a  thim- 
bleful of  the  precious  article,  which  he  had  rather  see 
going  into  the  stomachs  of  his  brave  soldiers  than  plas- 
tered on  their  hair. 

A  brief  entry  in  a  soldier's  diary,  tells  how  the  pinch 
came  closer  and  closer:  "  Another  bakery  shut  up  to-day. 


74  GIBRALTAR. 

ISTo   more  flour.      Even   salt  meat  scarce,  and  no  vege. 
tables." 

Shortly  after  this  an  examination  of  supplies  revealed 
the  fact  that  no  fresh  meat  remained,  with  the  exception 
of  an  old  cow,  which  was  reserved  for  the  sick.  A  goose 
was  sold  for  two  pounds,  and  a  turkey  for  four. 

In  such  a  condition — so  near  to  the  starvation  point — 
there  was  but  one  thing  to  do.  It  was  a  hard  necessity, 
but  there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  an  order  was  issued  for 
the  immediate  reduction  of  the  soldiers'  rations,  already 
barely  sufficient  to  sustain  life. 

The  effect  of  this  continued  privation  upon  the  morale 
of  the  garrison  was  very  depressing.  Hunger,  like  dis- 
ease, weakens  the  vital  forces,  and  when  both  come  to- 
gether they  weigh  upon  the  spirit  until  the  manliest 
give  way  to  discouragement.  That  this  feeling  did  not 
become  general  was  owing  chiefly  to  the  personal  in- 
fluence of  the  Governor,  whose  presence  was  medicine  to 
the  sick,  and  a  new  force  to  the  well,  making  the  brave 
braver  and  the  strong  stronger.  When  famine  stared 
them  in  the  face  he  made  light  of  it,  and  taught  others  to 
make  light  of  it  by  sharing  their  privations.  At  the  be- 
ffinnino-  of  the  siec-e  he  had  formed  a  resolution  to  share 
all  the  hardships  of  his  men,  even  to  limiting  himself  to 
the  fare  of  a  common  soldier.  His  food  was  of  the  plain- 
est and  coarsest.  As  a  Scotch  boy  he  had  perhaps  been 
brought  up  on  oatmeal  porridge,  and  it  was  good  enough 
for  him  still.     If  a  blockade-runner  came  in  with  a  cargo 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  75 

of  fresh  provisions,  he  did  not  reserve  the  best  for  him- 
self, but  all  was  sold  in  the  open  market.  If  it  be  said 
that  he  had  the  means  to  buy  which  others  had  not,  yet 
his  tastes  were  so  simple  that  he  preferred  to  share  the 
soldier's  mess  rather  than  to  partake  of  the  richest  food. 
Besides,  he  had  a  principle  about  it.  To  such  extent  did 
he  carry  this,  that,  on  one  occasion,  when  the  enemy's 
commander,  as  a  courtesy  not  unusual  in  war,  sent  him  a 
present  of  fruit,  vegetables,  and  game,  the  Governor, 
while  returning  a  polite  acknowledgment,  begged  that  the 
act  might  not  be  repeated,  for  that  he  had  a  fixed  resolu- 
tion "  never  to  receive  or  procure,  by  any  means  whatever, 
any  provisions  or  other  commodity  for  his  own  private 
use  ; "  adding,  "  I  make  it  a  point  of  honor  to  partake 
both  of  plenty  and  scarcity  in  common  with  the  lowest  of 
my  brave  fellow-soldiers."  Once  indeed  when  the  stress 
was  the  sharpest,  he  showed  his  men  how  close  they  could 
come  to  starvation  and  not  die,  by  living  eight  days  on 
four  ounces  of  rice  a  day !  The  old  hero  had  been  pre- 
paring for  just  such  a  crisis  as  this  by  his  previous  life, 
for  he  had  trained  himself  from  boyhood  to  bear  every 
sort  of  hardship  and  privation.  The  argument  for  total 
abstinence  needs  no  stronger  fact  to  support  it  than  that 
the  defence  of  Gibraltar  was  conducted  by  a  man  who 
needed  no  artificial  stimulus  to  keep  up  his  courage  or 
brace  his  nerves  against  the  shock  of  battle.  "  Old 
Eliott,"  the  brave  Scotchman  and  magnificent  soldier,  was 
able  to  stand  to  his  guns  with  nothing  stronger  to  fire  his 


76  GIBRALTAR. 

blood  than  cold  water.     Chalmers'  Biographical  Diction- 
ary says: 

"  He  was  perhaps  tlie  most  abstemious  man  of  the  age.  His 
food  was  vegetables,  and  his  di'ink  water.  He  neither  indulged 
himself  in  animal  food  nor  wine.  He  never  slept  more  than  four 
hours  at  a  time,  so  that  he  was  up  later  and  earlier  than  most  other 
men.  He  had  so  inured  himself  to  habits  of  hardness,  that  the 
things  which  are  difficult  and  painful  to  other  men  were  to  him 
his  daily  practice,  and  rendered  pleasant  by  use.  It  could  not  be 
easy  to  starve  such  a  man  into  a  surrender,  nor  to  surijrise  him. 
His  wants  were  easily  supplied,  and  his  watchfulness  was  beyond 
precedent.  The  example  of  the  commander-in-chief  in  a  besieged 
garrison,  has  a  most  persuasive  efficacy  in  forming  the  manners  of 
the  soldiery.  Like  him,  his  brave  followers  came  to  regulate 
their  lives  by  the  most  strict  rules  of  discii^line  before  there  arose 
a  necessity  for  so  doing  ;  and  severe  exercise,  with  short  diet,  be- 
came habitual  to  them  by  their  own  choice." 

Thus  the  old  Governor,  by  starving  himself,  tanght  his 
men  how  to  bear  starvation.  After  that  a  soldier,  how- 
ever pinched,  would  hardly  dare  to  complain. 

He  might  not  indeed  care  for  himself,  but  he  could  not 
help  caring  for  those  dependent  on  him.  The  cruel  hard- 
ship of  it  was  that  the  suffering  fell  not  on  the  soldiers 
alone,  but  on  women  and  children.  The  Governor  had 
tried,  as  far  as  possible,  to  send  away  all  non-combatants. 
But  it  was  not  always  easy  to  separate  families.  There 
were  soldiers'  wives,  who  clung  to  their  husbands  all  the 
more  because  of  their  danger.  If  a  Scotch  grenadier 
were  to  have  his  legs  carried  off  by  a  cannon-ball,  or 
frightfully  torn  by  a  shell,  who  could  nurse  him  so  well  as 
his  faithful  wife,  who  had  followed  him  in  the  camp  and 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  77 

in  the  field  ?  And  so,  for  better,  for  worse,  many  a  wife, 
with  the  courage  of  womanhood,  determined  to  share  her 
husband's  fate.  It  was  a  brave  resolution,  but  it  only- 
involved  them  in  the  common  distress.  There  were  so 
many  more  mouths  to  feed,  when  the  supply  even  for  the 
soldiers  was  all  too  little.  The  captain  who  has  recorded 
so  faithfully  the  heroisms  and  the  privations  of  the  siege, 
says : 

"Many  officers  and  soldiers  had  families  to  supjiort  out  of  the 
pittance  received  from  the  victualling  office.  A  soldier  and  his 
wife  and  three  children  would  inevitably  have  been  starved  to 
death  had  not  the  generous  contribution  of  his  corjDs  relieved  his 
family.  One  woman  actually  died  through  want,  and  many  were 
so  enfeebled  that  it  was  not  without  great  attention  they  recov- 
ered. Thistles,  dandelions,  and  wild  leeks  were  for  some  time  the 
daily  nourishment  of  numbers." 

Another  account  tells  the  same  pitiful  tale,  with  ad- 
ditional horrors : 

•'  The  ordinary  means  of  sustenance  were  now  almost  exhausted, 
and  roots  and  weeds,  with  thistles  and  wild  onions,  were  greedily 
sought  after  and  devoured  by  the  famished  inhabitants. 

' '  Bread  was  becoming  so  scarce  that  the  daily  rations  were 
served  out  under  i^rotection  of  a  guard,  and  the  weak,  the  aged, 
and  the  infirm,  who  could  not  struggle  against  the  hungry,  im- 
petuous crowd  that  thronged  the  doors  of  the  bakeries,  often  re- 
turned to  their  homes  robbed  of  their  share  :  "  * 

"  Ancell's  Journal,"  kept  during  the  siege,  thus  records 
the  impressions  of  the  day : 

"It  is  a  terribly  painful  sight  to  see  the  fighting  among  the 
peojile  for  a  morsel  of  bread  at  an  exorbitant  price ;  men  wrest- 
ling, women  entreating,  and  children  crying,  a  jargon  of  all  Ian 
*  Bayer's  History  of  Gibraltar,  pp.  297,  298. 


78  GIBRALTAR. 

guages,  piteously  pouring  fortli  tlieir  complaints.  You  ■would 
think  sensibility  -would  shed  a  tear,  and  yet  when  we  are  in  equal 
distress  ourselves  our  feelings  for  others  rather  subside." 

While  this  slow  and  wasting  process  of  starvation  was 
going  on,  the  garrison  were  in  a  fearful  state  of  suspense. 
Sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  England  had  forgotten  them, 
but  again  came  tidings  that  the  nation  was  watching  their 
defence  with  the  utmost  anxiety,  and  would  speedily  send 
relief.  The  time  of  waiting  seemed  long  as  the  months 
passed — summer  and  autumn  and  part  of  winter,  and 
no  help  appeared.  The  blockade  began  in  June,  1779, 
and  it  was  January,  1780,  before  the  fleet  of  Admiral 
Rodney,  after  gaining  a  battle  over  the  Spanish  fleet  off 
the  coast  of  Portugal,  bore  away  to  the  south.  To  those 
who  were  watching  from  the  top  of  the  Rock,  probably 
no  event  of  their  lives  ever  moved  them  so  much  as  when 
they  first  caught  sight  of  the  English  ships  entering  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar.  Men,  women,  and  children,  wept 
aloud  for  joy,  for  the  coming  fleet  brought  them  life  from 
the  dead.  And  when  it  anchored  in  the  bay,  and  the 
ships  began  to  unload,  they  brought  forth  not  only  guns 
and  ammunition,  but  more  priceless  treasures — beef,  pork, 
butter,  flour,  peas,  oatmeal,  raisins,  and  biscuits,  as  well 
as  coals,  iron  hoops,  and  candles  !  Revelling  in  such 
abundance,  could  they  ever  want  again  ?  It  was  indeed  a 
timely  relief,  and  if  the  fleet  could  have  remained,  it 
might  have  put  an  end  to  the  siege.  But  England  was 
then  carrying  on  wars  in  two  hemispheres ;  and  while  the 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  79 

French  fleet  was  crossing  the  Atlantic  to  aid  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  in  gaining  their  independence,  she  could  not 
afford  that  her  largest  fleet  should  lie  idle  in  the  Bay 
of  Gibraltar,  As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  stores  could 
be  landed,  Admiral  Rodney  returned  to  England.  The 
Governor  seized  the  opportunity  to  send  home  great 
numbers  of  invalids  and  women.  It  was  necessary  that 
the  garrison  should  "  strip  for  the  fight,"  as  there  were 
darker  days  to  come. 

Gibraltar  had  been  saved  from  the  jaws  of  famine  by 
the  arrival  of  the  English  fleet.  But  as  soon  as  it  left, 
the  Spanish  ships  remained  masters  of  the  bay,  and  the 
blockade  was  closer  than  ever.  The  garrison  had  had  a 
narrow  escape.  That  it  might  not  be  caught  so  again, 
the  Governor,  with  his  Scotch  thrift,  put  his  men  upon  a 
new  kind  of  service,  quite  apart  from  military  duty. 
The  Rock  is  not  wholly  barren.  There  are  many  nooks 
and  corners  that  are  bright  with  flowers,  and  anything 
that  the  earth  can  yield  will  ripen  under  that  warm  south- 
ern sky.  Accordingly  the  soldiers,  in  the  intervals  of  fir- 
ing the  big  guns,  were  put  to  do  a  little  gardening;  and 
turned  patches  of  ground  here  and  there  to  cultivation  ; 
and  where  the  hillside  was  too  steep,  the  earth  was  raised 
into  terraces  and  banked  up  with  walls,  on  which  they 
raised  small  quantities  of  lettuce  or  cabbages ;  so  that 
afterward,  although  they  still  suffered  for  many  of  the 
comforts,  if  not  the  necessaries,  of  life,  they  never  came 
quite  so  near  absolute  starvation. 


80  GIBEALTAE. 

This  "  home  produce  "  was  the  more  important  as  the 
garrison  was  now  to  be  cut  off  from  its  principal  resource 
outside.  For  a  time  it  had  been  able  to  obtain  supplies 
from  the  Barbary  Coast.  At  first  the  Moors  were  all  on 
the  side  of  England,  for  the  Spaniards  were  their  hered- 
itary enemies,  who  had  fought  them  for  hundreds  of 
years,  and  finally  driven  them  out  of  Spain,  for  which  the 
Moors  took  a  pious  revenge  by  thronging  the  mosques  of 
Tangier  to  pray  that  Allah  would  give  the  victory  to  the 
arms  of  England !  But  after  a  time  they  saw  things  in  a 
new  light.  It  could  not  be  Christian  charity  that  soft- 
ened their  hearts  toward  their  old  enemies,  for  they  hated 
the  very  name  of  Christian,  but  some  secret  influence 
(was  it  Spanish  gold  ?)  so  worked  on  the  mind  of  the  Sul- 
tan of  Morocco  that  he  became  convinced  that  Allah  was 
on  the  side  of  the  besiegers — a  discovery  which  he  an- 
nounced in  a  manner  that  was  not  quite  in  the  usual  style 
of  diplomatic  intercourse.     Thus,  without  any  warning, 

"  A  party  of  black  troops  that  were  quartered  in  the  vicinity  of 
Tangier,  came  to  the  house  of  the  British  Consul,  and  being  in- 
troduced, informed  him  that  they  had  orders  from  their  master  to 
abuse  and  insult  him  in  the  grossest  manner,  which  they  immedi- 
ately put  in  execution  by  spitting  in  his  face,  seizing  him  by  the 
collar,  and  threatening  to  stab  him  with  their  daggers !  " 

Fortunately  lie  escaped  with  nothing  worse  than  this 
gross  outrage ;  but  the  serious  part  of  the  business  was 
that  it  cut  off  all  communication  of  Gibraltar  with  the 
Barbary  Coast ;  for  the  Sultan  prohibited  the  export  of 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  81 

provisions,  and  as  the  supplies  brought  by  the  convoy 
were  exhausted  in  a  few  months,  the  garrison  was  again, 
not  indeed  at  the  starvation  point,  but  in  sore  need 
of  what  was  for  its  health  and  vigor.  The  meagre  diet 
threatened  to  produce  a  pestilence.  At  one  time  there 
were  seven  hundred  men  in  the  hospitals  ;  at  another  the 
small-pox  broke  out ;  and  at  another  the  garrison  was  so 
reduced  by  the  scurvy,  caused  by  the  use  of  salt  meats, 
that  strong  men  became  weak  as  children,  and  hobbled 
about  on  crutches.  This  threatened  a  great  disaster, 
which  was  averted  only  by  lemons  !  In  the  moment  of 
extremity  a  Dutch  "dogger"  coming  from  Malaga  was 
captured,  and  found  to  be  laden  with  oranges  and  lemons, 
"  a  freight  which,  at  such  a  crisis,  was  of  more  value  to 
the  garrison  than  tons  of  powder  or  magazines  of  ammu- 
nition." The  lemons  were  instantly  distributed  in  the 
hospitals.  The  men  seized  them  and  devoured  them 
ravenously,  and  the  restoration  was  so  speedy  as  to  seem 
almost  miraculous. 

And   yet   this  relief   was  only    temporary.     Soon  we 
have  this  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  garrison : 

"As  the  spring  of  1781  advanced,  the  situation  assumed  the 
most  distressing  aspect.  The  few  provisions  which  remained  were 
bad  in  quality,  and  having  been  kept  too  long  were  decomposed 
and  uneatable.  The  most  common  necessaries  of  life  were  exor- 
bitantly dear ;  bad  ship  biscuit,  full  of  worms,  was  sold  at  a  shil- 
ling a  pound ;  flour,  in  not  much  better  condition,  at  the  same 
price ;  old  dried  peas,  a  shilling  and  fourpence  ;  salt,  half  dirt, 
the  sweepings  of  ships'  bottoms  and  storehouses,  at  eight  pence  ; 
old  salt  butter,  at  two  shillings  and  sixpence ;  and  English  far- 
6 


82  GIBRALTAR. 

tiling  candles  cost  sixpence  apiece.  Fresh  provisions  commanded 
a  still  higher  x^rice :  turkeys  sold  at  three  pounds  twelve  shillings, 
sucking  pigs  at  two  guineas,  and  a  guinea  was  refused  for  a  calf's 
pluck. 

"  The  English  government,  aware  of  this  condition  of  things, 
had  for  months  turned  their  attention  to  the  relief  of  the  fortress  ; 
but  the  many  exigencies  of  the  war,  and  the  extensive  arena  over 
which  it  was  spread,  caused  so  many  demands  upon  the  navy 
that  it  had  hitherto  been  impossible  to  provide  a  fleet  for  the 
succor  of  Gibraltar.  But  the  relief  of  the  garrison  was  indispen- 
sable, and  the  honor  of  England  required  that  it  should  be  exe- 
cuted. Accordingly  the  government  made  extraordinary  efforts 
to  eqiiip  a  squadron  to  convoy  a  flotilla  of  merchantmen  to  the 
Eock."* 

But  with  all  their  eiforts,  it  was  more  than  a  year  be- 
fore the  second  fleet  arrived.  When  it  came,  it  was 
loaded  with  all  conceivable  supplies,  which  took  ten  days 
to  unload.  The  joy  of  the  beleaguered  garrison  knew  no 
bounds.  And  yet  this  new  relief  only  precipitated  a 
calamity  which  had  been  long  impending.  The  scene  of 
the  arrival  is  thus  described  by  an  eye-witness : 

<'  At  daybreak,  April  12th,  the  much-expected  fleet,  under  the 
command  of  Admiral  Darby,  was  in  sight  from  our  Signal-house, 
but  was  not  discernible  from  below,  being  obscured  by  a  thick 
mist.  As  the  sun,  however,  became  more  powerful,  the  fog  grad- 
ually rose,  like  the  curtain  of  a  vast  theatre,  discovering  to  the 
anxious  garrison  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  pleasing  scenes  it 
is  possible  to  conceive.  The  convoy,  consisting  of  near  a  hun- 
dred vessels,  led  by  several  men-of-war,  their  sails  just  enough 
filled  for  steerage ;  whilst  the  majority  of  the  line-of-battle  ships 
lay-to  under  the  Barbary  shore,  having  orders  not  to  enter  the 
bay  lest  the  enemy  should  molest  them  with  their  fire-ships.  The 
ecstasies  of  the  inhabitants  at  this  grand  and  exhilarating  sight 

*  Sayer's  History  of  Gibraltar,  pp.  346,  347. 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  83 

are  not  to  be  described.  Their  expressions  of  joy  far  exceeded 
their  former  exultations  [at  the  arrival  of  the  fleet  under  Admiral 
Eodney].  Alas!  they  little  dreamed  of  the  tremendous  blow  that 
impended,  which  was  to  annihilate  their  property,  and  reduce 
many  of  them  to  indigence  and  beggary."  * 

What  this  blow  was,  at  once  appeared.  The  arrival  of 
the  second  fleet  from  England  convinced  the  Spaniards 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  reduce  Gibraltar  by  block- 
ade, and  determined  them  to  try  the  other  alternative  of 
bombardment.  Enormous  batteries,  mounting  ITO  guns 
and  80  mortars,  had  been  planted  along  the  shore ;  and 
now  (before  even  the  English  ships  could  be  unladen  of 
their  stores)  was  opened  all  round  the  bay  a  feu  d^en- 
fer,  which  was  kept  up  for  six  weeks  !  Only  two  hours 
out  of  the  twenty-four  was  there  any  cessation,  and  that 
for  a  singular  reason.  ISTational  customs  must  rule  in  war 
as  in  peace.  The  Spaniards  began  their  fire  at  daybreak, 
and  continued  it  without  intermission  till  noon.  Then 
suddenly  it  ceased,  and  the  camp  of  the  besiegers  relapsed 
into  silence :  for  that  the  officers,  if  not  the  men,  were 
asleep!  What  Spanish  gentleman  could  be  deprived  of 
his  siesta?  At  two  o'clock  precisely  they  woke  up  and 
went  to  fighting  again.  At  nightfall  the  cannon  ceased, 
but  only  that  the  mortars  (which  did  not  need  to  be  aimed 
with  precision,  and  therefore  could  be  fired  in  darkness 
as  well  as  in  daylight)  opened  their  larger  throats,  and 
kept  up  the  roar  till  daybreak.     Thus,  with  only  the  time 

*  Drinkwater,  p.  68. 


84  GIBRALTAK. 

of  the  siesta,  there  was  not  an  hour  of  day  or  night  that 
the  Rock  did  not  echo  with  tremendous  reverberations. 
The  town  was  soon  set  on  fire,  and  completely  destroyed. 
There  was  no  safety  anywhere,  not  even  in  the  casemates. 
If  a  bomb-proof  withstood  a  falling  shell,  it  would  some- 
times explode  at  the  open  door,  wounding  those  within. 
Men  were  killed  sleeping  in  their  beds.  The  scene  at 
night  was  more  terrible  than  by  day,  as  the  shells  were 
more  clearly  seen  in  their  deadly  track.  Sometimes  a 
dozen  would  be  wheeling  in  the  air  at  the  same  moment, 
keeping  every  eye  strained  to  see  where  the  bolts  would 
fall,  and  the  bravest  held  their  breath  when  (as  was  sev- 
eral times  the  case)  they  fell  near  the  powder  maga- 
zines ! 

Again,  the  soldiers  were  not  the  only  ones  to  suffer : 
their  wives  and  children  were  their  partners  in  misery. 
When  the  town  was  on  fire,  the  people  fled  from  it,  and 
at  a  distance  watched  the  flames  that  rose  from  their 
burning  dwellings,  in  which  all  their  little  property  was 
consumed — the  roofs  that  sheltered  them,  and  even  the 
food  that  fed  them.  For  six  weeks  they  had  not  a  mo- 
ment's rest,  day  nor  night.  Although  they  had  fled  to 
the  southern  end  of  the  Rock,  destruction  pursued  them 
there.  The  Spanish  ships  had  a  custom  of  sailing  round 
Europa  Point,  and  firing  indiscriminately  on  shore.  This 
was  generally  at  night,  so  that  the  poor  creatures  who  had 
lain  down  to  snatch  a  moment  of  forgetfulness,  were 
roused  at  miduisht  and  fled  almost  naked  to  seek  for 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  85 

shelter  behind  rocks  and  in  holes  in  the  ground,  in  which 
they  cowered  like  hunted  beasts,  till  the  storm  of  fire  had 
passed  over  them. 

The  troops  were  not  quite  so  badly  off,  for  though  they 
were  shelled  out  of  tlieir  old  quarters,  and  had  not  a  roof 
to  cover  them,  yet  Englisli  soldiers  and  sailors  are  inge- 
nious, and  getting  hold  of  some  old  ship  canvas  they 
rigged  up  a  few  forlorn  tents,  which  they  pitched  on  the 
hillside.  But  again  they  were  discomfited.  Gibraltar  is 
subject  at  certain  seasons  to  terrific  storms  of  thunder  and 
lightning,  and  now  the  rains  poured  down  tlie  side  of  the 
Eock  in  such  floods  as  to  sweep  away  the  tents,  and  leave 
the  men  exposed  to  the  fury  of  the  elements.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  them.  But 
they  were  to  find  that  the  stars  in  their  courses  fight  for 
those  who  fight  for  themselves. 

Sometimes  the  storms,  so  terrible  in  one  way,  brought 
relief  in  another.  There  had  been  a  scarcity  of  fuel  as 
well  as  of  food.  A  soldier  could  hardly  pick  up  sticks 
to  make  his  pot  boil,  and  cook  his  scanty  meal ;  so  that 
when  a  furious  gale  wrecked  a  ship  in  the  bay,  and  cast 
its  fragments  on  the  shore,  which  furnished  fuel  for  their 
camp-fires  for  some  weeks,  they  counted  it  a  providential 
interposition  for  their  deliverance  ;  and  as  the  firelight 
cast  its  ruddy  glow  in  their  faces,  they  thanked  God  and 
took  courage. 

But  with  all  their  courage,  kept  up  by  such  occasional 
good  fortune,  it  was   a  life-and-death  struggle,  as  they 


86  GIBRALTAR. 

fonglit  not  only  with  the  enemy,  but  with  hunger  and 
cold,  and  every  form  of  privation. 

During  all  this  dreadful  time  the  old  Governor  was 
magnificent.  Going  among  the  families  that  were  house- 
less and  homeless,  for  whom  he  felt  the  utmost  sympathy 
(for  with  all  his  rugged  strength  he  had  a  very  tender 
heart),  he  allayed  their  fears ;  terrified  and  miserable  as 
they  were,  it  was  impossible  to  resist  the  sunshine  of  that 
kindly  Scotch  face.* 

Then  he  turned  to  his  soldiers,    who  may  well  have 

*  It  is  a  common  saying  that  the  brave  are  generous,  but  this  is  not  always 
so.  Some  of  the  bravest  men  that  ever  lived  have  been  cold-hearted  and 
cruel.  But  Eliott,  though  he  had  an  iron  frame  and  iron  wUl,  was  as  soft- 
hearted as  a  woman.  Nothing  roused  his  indignation  more  than  an  act  of  in- 
humanity on  the  part  of  a  superior  toward  an  inferior.  Hence  he  was  the  pro- 
tector not  only  of  women  and  children,  but  of  prLsoners  who  fell  into  his 
hands,  and  who  might  otherwise  be  exposed  to  the  license  of  soldiers  demoral- 
ized by  victory.  He  repressed  all  pillage  and  stood  between  the  victors  and 
the  vanquished,  as  the  defender  of  the  defenceless.  So  noted  was  he  for  his 
humanity  that  those  who  were  in  trouble  sought  his  protection,  and  his  re- 
sponse to  their  appeals  sometimes  took  them  by  surprise.  An  amusing  illus- 
tration of  this  occurred  some  years  before  at  the  capture  of  Havana :  A 
Frenchman  who  had  suffered  greatly  by  the  depredations  of  the  soldiery, 
came  to  him,  and  begged  in  bad  English  that  he  would  interfere  to  have  his 
property  restored.  But  his  wife,  who  was  a  woman  of  high  spirit,  was  an- 
gry at  lier  husband  that  he  should  ask  any  favor  of  an  enemy,  and  turned 
to  him  sharply,  saying,  "  Comment  pouvez  vous  demander  de  grace  a  un 
homme  qui  vient  vous  depouiller  ?  N'en  esperez  pas."  The  husband  per- 
sisting in  his  application,  the  wife  grew  more  loud  in  her  censure,  and  said, 
"Vous  n'e'tes  pas  FranQais  ! "  The  General,  who  was  busy  writing  at  the 
time,  overheard  the  conversation,  and  as  he  spoke  French  perfectly,  turned 
to  the  woman,  and  said  smiling,  ''  Madame,  ne  vous  uchauflfez  pas  ;  ce  que 
votre  mari  demande  lui  sera  accordo."  At  this  she  broke  out  again,  as 
if  it  were  the  last  degree  of  indignity,  that  the  Englishman  should  speak 
French:  "Oh,  faut-il  pour  surcroit  de  malheur,  que  le  barbare  parle  Fran- 
Qais ! "  The  General  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  woman's  spirit  that  he 
not  only  procured  them  their  property  again,  but  also  took  pains  to  accommo- 
date them  in  every  respect.  —  Chalmers^  Bloyraphical  Dictionary. 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  87 

been  appalled  by  the  tremendous  fire,  which  wrought  such 
wreck  and  ruin.  If  they  were  troubled  and  anxious,  he 
was  calm.  He  shunned  no  danger,  as  he  had  shunned 
no  privation.  Indeed  danger  did  not  affect  him  as  it  did 
other  men,  but  only  roused  the  lion  in  his  breast.  The 
more  the  danger  grew,  the  higher  rose  his  unconquerable 
spirit.  lie  was  constantly  under  fire,  and  his  perfect 
coolness  tended  to  produce  the  same  composure  in  others 
equally  exposed.  Terrible  as  the  bombardment  was,  not 
for  one  moment  did  he  admit  the  possibility  of  surrender. 
But  now  came  a  new  danger,  not  from  without,  but 
from  within.  The  fire  which  swept  the  town  uncovered 
cellars  and  other  hiding-places  in  which  the  hucksters 
had  concealed  provisions  and  other  stores  to  double  their 
price,  and  extort  the  last  penny  from  the  half -fed  popula- 
tion. When  their  storehouses  were  destroyed  little  sym- 
pathy was  felt  for  them.  Indeed,  there  was  a  general 
feeling  of  savage  exultation  ;  and  as  here  and  there  sup- 
plies of  food  were  found,  they  were  seized  without  scruple 
and  appropriated  to  the  common  use.  Men  who  have 
been  living  on  short  allowance  are  apt  to  be  led  into  ex- 
cesses by  sudden  plenty,  and  the  soldiers  could  hardly  be 
blamed  if  for  once  they  gave  themselves  a  generous  sup- 
ply. From  the  extreme  of  want  they  M-ent  to  the  ex- 
treme of  waste.  In  some  cases  incredible  profusion 
prevailed.  Drinkwater  says :  "  Among  other  instances 
of  caprice  and  extravagance,  I  recollect  seeing  a  party  of 
soldiers  roast  a  pig  by  a  fire  made  of  cinnamon  !  " 


88  GIBRALTAR. 

If  this  had  been  all,  there  would  not  have  been  so  much 
to  regret.  But  in  the  stores  were  casks  of  wine  and  bar- 
rels of  spirits,  which  were  now  knocked  on  the  head,  and 
the  contents  distributed  with  no  restraint,  till  soon  a  large 
part  of  the  garrison  was  in  such  a  state  of  intoxication  as 
to  be  utterly  unfit  for  duty.  "As  the  enemy's  shells 
forced  open  the  secret  recesses  of  the  merchants,  the  sol- 
diers instantly  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity  to 
seize  upon  the  liquors,  which  they  conveyed  to  haunts  of 
their  own.  Here  in  parties  they  barricaded  their  quarters 
against  all  opposers,  and  insensible  of  their  danger,  re- 
galed themselves  with  the  spoils."  For  a  time  this  sud- 
den madness  ran  riot  in  the  streets,  threatening  the  over- 
throw of  all  order  and  discipline. 

It  can  hardly  be  matter  of  surprise  that  the  reaction 
from  this  long  tension  of  feeling,  with  the  sudden  tempta- 
tion to  drunkenness,  should  show  itself  in  wild  extrava- 
irances.  An  incident  related  in  "  Ancell's  Journal,"  shows 
the  soldier  in  the  mood  of  making  sport  of  his  dangers : 

"April  15,  1781. — Yesterday  I  met  a  soldier  singing  in  the 
street  with  uncommon  glee,  notwithstanding  the  enemy  were  fir- 
ing with  prodigious  warmth, 

'  A  soldier's  life  is  a  merry  life, 
From  care  and  trouble  free.' 

He  ran  to  me  with  eagerness,  and  presenting  his  bottle,  cried ; 

« D n  me  if  I  don't  like  fighting,  with  plenty  of  good  liquor 

for  carrying  away.     'Why,  Jack,'  says  I,  'what  have  you  been 
about'?'     'Faith,'  says  he,  'I  scarce  know  myself.     I  have  been 


THE    GREAT     SIEGE.  89 

constantly  on  foot  and  watch,  half-starved  and  without  money, 
facing  a  parcel  of  pitiful  Spaniards,  I  have  been  fighting,  wheel- 
ing, marching,  counter-marching,  sometimes  with  a  firelock, 
sometimes  with  a  handspike,  and  now  with  my  bottle.' 

"A  shell  that  instant  burst,  apiece  of  which  knocked  the  bottle 
out  of  his  hand.  '  Jack,'  says  I,  '  are  you  not  thankful  to  God 
for  your  preservation  ? '  '  How  do  you  mean  ?  '  says  he  ;  '  fine 
talking  of  God  with  a  soldier  whose  trade  and  occupation  is  cut- 
ting throats.  Divinity  and  slaughter  sound  very  well  together ; 
they  jingle  like  a  cracked  bell  in  the  hands  of  a  noisy  crier.  My 
religion  is  a  firelock,  open  touch-hole,  good  flint,  well-rammed 
charge,  and  seventy  rounds :  this  is  military  creed.  Come,  com- 
rade, drink  !  '  " 

Such  license  as  this  would  soon  demoralize  the  best 
troops  in  the  world.  Had  the  Spaniards  known  the  de- 
gree to  which  it  existed  at  that  moment,  and  been  able  to 
effect  an  entrance  into  the  fortress,  Gibraltar  might  have 
been  lost. 

The  insubordination  was  suppressed  only  by  the  most 
strenuous  efforts  of  the  Governor  and  the  vigorous  en- 
forcement of  discipline.  An  order  was  issued  that  any 
soldier  caught  marauding  should  be  "executed  imme- 
diately,'''' and  this  summary  judgment  was  put  in  force  in 
several  cases,  where  men  were  not  only  executed  witliout  a 
moment's  delay,  but  on  the  very  spot  where  the  crime  was 
committed.  This  timely  severity,  with  the  personal  in- 
fluence of  the  Governor,  at  length  brought  the  soldiers  to 
their  senses,  and  order  was  restored.  Perhaps  they  were 
brought  back  to  duty  in  part  by  the  continued  roar  of 
that  terrific  bombardment,  for  in  a  trne  soldier  nothins; 
rouses  the  martial  spirit  like  the  sound  of  the  enemy's 


90  GIBRALTAR. 

guns.  Danger  and  duty  go  together:  and  many  of  those 
who  had  been  carried  away  by  this  temporary  frenzy, 
when  they  "  came  to  themselves,"  were  among  the  brav- 
est who  fought  in  the  conflicts  that  were  yet  to  come. 

It  was  now  a  struggle  of  endurance — firing  and  conn- 
ter-firing  month  after  month,  with  exciting  incidents  now 
and  then  to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  siege.  Of  these 
episodes  the  most  notable  was  the  sortie  executed  on  the 
night  of  November  26,  1781.  The  siege  had  lasted  more 
than  two  years,  and  the  Spaniards,  boastful  and  confident 
as  they  are  apt  to  be,  by  this  time  appreciated  the  enor- 
mous difficulty  of  attacking  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar,  To  do 
them  justice,  instead  of  being  daunted  by  the  greatness  of 
the  task,  their  military  ardor  rose  with  the  vastness  of  the 
imdertaking,  and  they  had  been  engaged  for  months  in 
rearing  a  stupendous  parallel  across  the  Neutral  Ground, 
to  be  mounted  with  the  heaviest  battering  artillery.  The 
Governor  had  kept  his  eye  upon  the  progress  of  the  work, 
and  as  he  saw  its  lines  spreading  out  wider  and  wider, 
and  rising  higher  and  higher,  he  could  not  but  feel  anxi- 
ety for  the  moment  when  these  batteries  should  open,  and 
rain  shot  and  shell  upon  the  devoted  garrison.  The  way 
in  which  he  met  the  new  danger  showed  that  he  had  the 
promptness  in  action  of  a  great  commander. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  siege  he  had  observed  the 
utmost  economy  in  the  use  of  his  resources.  He  was 
sparing  of  his  ammunition,  and  sometimes  reproached  his 
ofl&cers  with  great  severity  for  wasting  it  in  unimportant 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  91 

attacks.  He  saved  his  powder  as  he  saved  his  men.  In- 
deed he  was  sparing  of  everything  except  himself.  Yet 
"  he  never  relaxed  from  his  discipline  by  the  appearance 
of  security,  nor  hazarded  the  lives  of  his  garrison  by  wild 
experiments.  Collected  within  himself,  he  in  no  instance 
destroyed,  by  premature  attacks,  the  labors  which  would 
cost  the  enemy  time,  patience,  and  expense  to  complete  ; 
he  deliberately  observed  their  approaches,  and  seized  on 
the  proper  moment  in  which  to  make  his  attack  with  suc- 
cess." For  months  he  had  been  waiting  and  watching: 
the  time  for  action  had  now  come. 

During  the  siege  there  had  been  frequent  desertions  on 
both  sides.  Kow  and  then  soldiers  of  the  garrison, 
wearied  %vith  the  interminable  siege  (and  thinking  it  bet- 
ter to  take  the  chances  of  instant  death  than  to  be  shut 
up  in  a  fortress-prison  and  perish  by  inches),  let  them- 
selves down  by  ropes  over  the  face  of  the  Rock.  Some 
escaped  to  the  enemy,  and  some  were  dashed  on  the  rocks 
below.  On  the  other  side  there  were  among  the  Spanish 
soldiers  a  good  many  Walloons  from  Belgium,  who  had 
no  interest  in  the  contest,  and  were  as  ready  to  fight  on 
one  side  as  the  other.  Occasionally  one  of  these  would 
stray  out  of  the  camp,  as  if  without  intention,  and  when 
he  had  got  at  a  distance  which  he  thought  gave  him  a 
chance  of  escape,  would  take  to  his  heels  and  run  for  the 
gates  of  the  fortress.  If  discovered,  he  was  immediately 
fired  at,  and  a  mounted  guard  started  in  pursuit,  and  if 
overtaken,  he  was  brought  back,  and  the  next  day  his 


92  GIBr.ALTAR. 

body,  hanging  from  the  scaffold,  in  full  sight  of  the  Rock, 
served  as  a  ghastly  warning  alike  to  the  besiegers  and  the 
besieged. 

But,  in  spite  of  all,  desertions  went  on.  One  day  a 
couple  of  deserters  were  brought  to  the  Governor,  one  of 
whom  proved  to  be  uncommonly  intelligent,  and  gave  im- 
portant information.  "  Old  Eliott "  took  him  up  to  a 
point  of  the  Rock  from  which  they  could  look  down  into 
the  camp  of  the  besiegers,  and  questioned  him  minutely 
as  to  its  condition  and  the  intentions  of  the  enemy.  He 
said  that  the  parallel  was  nearly  completed ;  and  that  as 
soon  as  all  was  ready  the  Spaniards  would  make  a  grand 
assault ;  but  that  meanwhile  the  M'orks,  enormous  as  they 
were,  were  not  guarded  by  a  large  force,  the  besiegers  not 
dreaming  that  the  batteries  prepared  for  attack  could  be 
themselves  attacked !  The  Governor  instantly  perceived 
the  value  of  this  information,  but  kept  it  to  himself,  and 
had  the  deserter  closely  confined  lest  he  should  incau- 
tiously reveal  to  others  what  he  had  told  to  him.  Keep- 
ing his  own  counsel,  he  made  his  preparations,  which  he 
did  not  disclose  even  to  his  lieutenants  until  the  moment 
for  action.  It  was  in  the  evening  when  he  called  them 
together,  and  announced  his  intention  to  make  an  attack 
on  the  works  of  the  besiegers  that  very  nighty  and  at  mid- 
night about  two  thousand  men  were  in  arms  on  the  "  Red 
Sands,"  now  the  Alameda,  to  carry  the  daring  purpose 
into  execution.  Their  orders  were  of  the  strictest  kind; 
"  Each  man  to  have  thirty-six  rounds  of  ammunition,  with 


THE    GEEAT    SIEGE.  93 

a  good  flint  in  his  piece  and  another  in  his  pocket.  ISTo 
drums  to  go  out,  excepting  two  with  each  of  the  regi- 
ments. No  volunteers  will  he  allowed!!''  Tlie  brave  old 
commander  wanted  no  amateurs  on  such  an  occasion. 
"No  person  to  advance  before  the  front,  unless  ordered 
bj  the  officer  commanding  the  column  :  and  the  most  jpro- 
found  silence  to  he  ohservedP  As  it  took  two  or  three 
liours  to  form  the  columns,  and  acquaint  all  with  the 
special  duty  to  be  undertaken,  and  the  necessity  for  the 
strictest  obedience,  it  was  nearly  three  o'clock  when  they 
began  to  move.  The  moon  was  just  setting  across  the 
bay,  and  soon  all  was  dark  and  still,  as  tlie  men  advanced 
wuth  quick  but  cautious  steps  through  the  silent  streets. 
The  commander  had  picked  his  men  for  the  darino-  at- 
tempt. Knowing  how  powerful  are  the  traditions  of 
braver}^,  he  had  chosen  two  regiments  that  had  fought 
side  by  side  at  the  battle  of  Minden,  twenty-two  years  be- 
fore. The  officers  to  lead  them  he  had  chosen  with 
equal  care,  and  yet,  when  it  came  to  the  moment  of 
action,  the  old  soldier  felt  such  a  fire  in  his  bones  that 
he  could  not  resist  the  impulse  to  keep  them  company. 
As  they  emerged  from  the  gates  they  had  still  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  across  the  plain  to  reach  the  enemy's 
works.  With  all  the  precautions  to  secure  silence,  the 
tramp  of  two  thousand  men,  however  muffled,  could 
not  but  reach  the  ears  of  the  Spanish  sentinels,  and  a 
few  rapid  shots  told  that  they  were  discovered.  But 
the  alarm  was  given  too  late.     It  only  quickened  the  ad- 


94  GIBRALTAE. 

vance  of  the  column,  which,  as  it  reached  the  works, 
rushed  over  the  parapet,  bayoneting  tlie  men,  such  as  did 
not  flee,  panic-stricken  by  the  sudden  attack,  and  spiking 
the  guns.  As  the  soldiers  had  come  prepared  with  faggots 
for  the  purpose,  they  immediately  set  the  works  on  fire. 
But  even  at  this  moment  of  terror  there  was  one  who 
thought  of  mercy  as  well  as  of  victory.  Before  the  flames 
had  spread  the  Governor,  "  anxious  that  none  of  the  \vound- 
ed  should  by  any  accident  pei'ish  in  the  burning  batteries, 
went  into  the  trench  himself  and  found  among  the  bodies 
of  the  slain  a  wounded  oflicer,  whom  by  his.  uniform  he 
knew  to  be  a  captain  of  the  Spanish  artillery,  to  whom  he 
spoke  with  all  kindness,  and  promising  him  every  assist- 
ance, ordered  him  to  be  removed,  as  the  fire  was  now  rap- 
idly spreading  to  the  spot  where  he  lay.  But  the  Span- 
iard, raising  himself  with  difficulty,  feebly  exclaimed, 
"No,  sir,  no,  leave  me  and  let  me  perish  amid  the  ruins  of 
my  post."  In  a  few  minutes  he  expired.  It  was  afterwai'd 
found  that  he  had  commanded  the  guard  of  the  San  Car- 
los battery,  and  that  when  his  men  threw  down  their  arms 
and  fled,  he  rushed  forward  into  the  attacking  column, 
exclaiming,  "  At  least  one  Spaniard  shall  die  honorably," 
and  fell  where  he  was  found,  at  the  foot  of  his  post."  * 

It  was  now  too  late  to  talk  of  mercy.  In  an  hour  the 
flames  had  spread  into  a  conflagration  that  could  not  be 
subdued.  As  it  rose  into  the  air,  it  lighted  up  the  Rock 
above  and  the  plain  below.     Leaving  the  elements  to  com- 

*  Sayer's  History,  p.  365. 


THE    GKEAT    SIEGE.  95 

plete  the  work  of  destruction,  the  assailants  made  their 
retreat,  only  to  hear,  as  they  re-entered  the  gates,  the  ex- 
plosion of  the  magazines.  So  vast  was  the  ruin  wrought 
that  the  camp  was  like  a  city  on  fire,  and  continued  to 
burn  for  four  days,  without  an  eifort  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards  (who  seemed  to  be  stunned  and  bewildered  by 
the  sudden  attack)  to  subdue  the  flames.  Thus  was  de- 
stroyed at  a  single  stroke  what  it  had  cost  months  of 
labor  and  millions  of  money  to  construct. 

And  so  the  game  of  war  went  on  for  three  long  years, 
until  it  had  fixed  the  gaze  of  the  whole  civilized  world. 
The  last  act  was  to  be  inaugurated  by  a  change  in  the 
military  command,  and  in  the  method  of  attack.  Hith- 
erto the  siege  had  been  conducted  cliiefl^^  by  the  Span- 
iards, as  was  fitting,  since,  if  the  fortress  were  taken,  to 
Spain  would  fall  the  splendid  prize.  They  had  fought 
bravely,  maintaining  the  i-eputation  which  had  never  been 
shaken  from  the  days  of  Alva,  when  the  Spanish  infantry 
was  more  dreaded  than  any  other  on  the  battle-fields  of 
Europe.  During  the  siege  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  as 
they  looked  down  from  their  heights  into  the  hostile 
camp,  could  not  but  admire  the  way  in  which  both  ofiicers 
and  men  exposed  themselves.  It  was  not  to  their  dis- 
honor if  they  had  failed  in  attempting  the  impossible. 
But  having  to  confess  defeat,  it  was  but  military  pru- 
dence to  see  if  another  mode  of  operation  might  not  be 
more  successful.  Accordingly,  French  skill  in  the  art  of 
war  was  now  called  in  to  take  part  in  the  tremendous  con- 


96  GIBRALTAR. 

flict.  The  Due  de  Crillon,  who  had  recently  distinguished 
himself  by  the  capture  of  Minorca,  was  put  in  command 
of  the  combined  land  forces  ;  while  a  French  engineer, 
the  Chevalier  d'Ar9on,  was  to  prepare  an  armament  more 
formidable  than  had  ever  been  known  in  naval  warfare. 

The  plan  had  certainly  the  merit  of  boldness.  There 
was  to  be  no  more  long  blockade,  and  no  more  attempt  to 
take  the  place  by  stratagem.  Gibraltar  was  to  be  taken, 
if  at  all,  by  hard  fighting.  But  the  conditions  of  battle 
were  unequal :  for  how  could  wooden  ships  be  matched 
against  stone  walls?  'No  ships  of  the  day  could  stand  an 
hour  against  guns  fired  from  behind  those  ramparts. 
But  this  eno-ineer  was  bold  enough  to  believe  that  vessels 
could  be  made  so  strong  that  they  would  withstand  even 
that  tremendous  fire.  lie  proposed  to  construct  "  batter- 
ing ships"  of  such  enormous  strength  that  they  could  be 
moored  within  short  range,  when  he  in  turn  M^ould  open  a 
fire  equally  tremendous,  that  should  blow  Gibraltar  into 
the  air !  All  he  asked  was  that  his  flotilla  might  be  laid 
close  alongside  the  enemy,  when,  gun  to  gun  and  man  to 
man,  the  contest  should  be  decided.  Once  let  him  get 
near  enough  to  make  a  breach  for  a  storming  party  to 
mount  the  walls,  and  his  French  grenadiers  would  do  the 
rest.  It  was  bravely  conceived,  and  to  the  day  of  battle 
it  seemed  as  if  it  might  be  bravely  dojie. 

To  begin  with,  ten  of  the  largest  ships  in  the  Spanish 
navy  were  to  be  sacrificed  :  for  it  seemed  like  a  sacrifice 
to  cut  down  the  husre  bulwarks  of  their  towering  sides. 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  97 

Bnt  show  was  to  be  sacrificed  to  strength.  The  new  con- 
structor would  have  no  more  three-deckers,  nor  two-deck- 
ers. All  he  wanted  was  one  broad  deck,  reaching  the 
whole  length  of  the  ship,  from  stem  to  stern,  which 
should  be  as  solid  as  if  it  were  a  part  of  the  mainland,  or 
a  floating  island,  on  which  he  could  plant  his  guns  as  on 
the  ramparts  of  a  fortress.  Having  thus  dismantled  and 
razeed  the  great  ships,  he  proceeded  to  reconstruct  them 
without  and  within.  His  method  is  of  interest,  as  show- 
ing how  a  hundred  years  ago  a  naval  engineer  anticipated 
the  modern  construction  of  ironclads.  His  batterino- 
ships  were  in  outward  shape  almost  exactly  what  the 
Merrimac  was  in  our  civil  war.  He  did  everything  except 
case  them  with  iron,  the  art  of  rolling  plates  of  wrought 
iron,  such  as  are  now  used  in  the  construction  of  ships, 
not  being  then  known.  But  if  they  could  not  be 
"plated"  with  iron  on  the  outside,  they  were  "backed" 
by  ribs  of  oak  within.  Inside  their  enormous  hulls  was  a 
triple  thickness  of  beauis,  braced  against  the  sides.  ISText 
to  this  was  a  layer  of  sand,  in  which  it  was  supposed  a 
cannon-ball  would  bury  itself  as  in  the  earth.  To  this 
sand-bank,  resting  against  its  oaken  backing,  there  was 
still  an  inner  lining  in  a  thick  wall  of  corTc,  which,  yield- 
ing like  india-rubber,  would  offer  the  best  resistance  to 
the  penetration  of  shot. 

Having  thus  protected  the  hulls,  it  was  only  necessary 
to  protect  the  crews.  For  this  the  decks  were  roofed 
with  heavy  timbers,  which  were  covered  with  ropes,  and 


98  GIBRALTAR. 

next  witli  hides,  after  the  manner  of  the  ancient  Romans; 
so  that  the  men  working  at  the  guns  were  ahnost  as  se- 
cure from  the  enemy's  fire  as  if  they  were  inside  of  the 
strongest  casemates  that  the  art  of  fortification  could  con- 
struct. Thus  shielded  above  and  below — from  the  deck 
to  the  keel — these  novel  ships-of-war  were  in  truth  float- 
ing fortresses,  and  it  was  hardly  presumptuous  in  their 
constructor  to  say  that  they  "could  not  be  burnt,  nor 
sunk,  nor  taken." 

These  preparations  for  attack  could  not  be  made  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  garrison.  From  the  top  of  the 
Rock  they  had  but  to  turn  their  glasses  across  the  bay, 
and  they  could  see  distinctly  hundreds  of  workmen 
swarming  over  the  great  hulks,  and  could  almost  hear  the 
sound  of  the  hammers  that  ceased  not  day  nor  night. 
Turning  to  the  camp  of  the  besiegers,  they  could  see 
"  long  strings  of  mules  streaming  hourly  into  the  trenches 
laden  with  shot,  shell,  and  ammunition."  Deserters 
brought  in  reports  of  the  vast  preparations,  and  the  confi- 
dence they  inspired.  The  fever  of  expectation  had  spread 
to  the  capitals  of  Spain  and  France.  The  King  of  Sjjain 
was  almost  beside  himself  with  eagerness  and  impatience. 
Every  morning  his  first  question  was  "  Is  it  taken  ? "  and 
when  answered  in  the  negative  he  always  kept  up  his 
courage  by  saying,  "It  will  soon  be  ours."  Ilis  expecta- 
tions seemed  now  likely  to  be  realized.  All  felt  that 
at  last  the  end  was  nigh,  and  the  Comte  d'Artois,  the 
brother  of  Louis  XVL,  the  King  of  France,  had  made  the 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  99 

journey  all  the  way  from  Paris  to  be  present  at  the  grand 
culmination  of  the  surrender  of  Gibraltar ! 

So  sure  were  the  allies  of  victory  that  they  debated 
among  themselves  as  to  "  how  many  hours  "  the  garrison 
could  keep  up  a  resistance.  Twenty-four  hours  was  the 
limit,  and  when  the  French  commander,  less  sanguine 
than  the  naval  constructors  and  engineers,  thought  it 
might  be  even  two  loeeks  before  the  place  fell,  he  was 
the  subject  of  general  ridicule. 

Taking  for  granted  that  the  fire  of  the  garrison  would 
soon  be  silenced,  precise  directions  were  given  about  the 
landing  of  the  storming  party.  As  soon  as  a  break  w^as 
made,  the  grenadiers  were  to  mount  the  walls.  It  was 
especially  ordered  that  strong  bodies  of  troops  should 
advance  rapidly  and  cut  off  the  reti^eat  of  the  garrison, 
which  might  otherwise  flee  to  the  heights  of  the  Rock, 
and  keep  up  for  a  while  longer  the  hopeless  resistance. 
The  victory  must  be  complete. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  garrison  was  roused  to  greater 
exertion  by  the  greater  danger.  Its  ardor  was  excited 
also  by  what  was  passing  in  other  parts  of  tlie  world. 
War  was  still  raging  in  both  hemispheres,  with  the  usual 
vicissitudes  of  victory  and  defeat.  England  had  lost 
America,  but  her  wounded  pride  was  soon  relieved,  if  not 
entirely  removed,  by  a  great  victory  at  sea.  Cornwallis 
surrendered  at  Yorktown,  in  October,  1781,  and  only  six 
months  after,  in  April,  1782,  Admiral  Rodney  (the  same 
who  had  relieved  Gibraltar  only  two  years  before)  gained 


100  GIBRALTAll. 

a  victory  in  the  "West  Indies  over  Count  de  Grasse,  which 
ahnost  annihihited  the  French  fleet,  and  assured  to  Eng- 
land, wliatever  her  losses  upon  land,  the  mastery  of  the 
seas.  The  tidings  of  this  great  victory  reached  Gibraltar, 
and  fired  the  spirit  of  every  Briton.  The  Governor  was 
now  sixty-four  years  old,  and  the  events  of  the  last  three 
years  might  well  make  him  feel  that  he  was  a  hundred. 
But  his  youth  returned  in  the  great  crisis  that  was  upon 
him.  Both  Governor  and  garrison  burned  to  do  some- 
thing worthy  the  name  and  fame  of  Old  England.  The 
opportunity  soon  came. 

Though  the  battering  ships  were  regarded  as  invinci- 
ble, yet  to  make  assurance  doubly  sure  the  French  and 
Spanish  fleets  had  been  quadrupled  in  force.  If  any 
man's  heart  had  been  trembling  before,  it  must  have 
failed  him  on  September  12,  1782,  when  there  sailed 
into  the  bay  thirty-nine  ships  of  the  line,  raising  the 
naval  armament  to  fifty  line-of-battle  ships,  with  in- 
numerable smaller  vessels — the  largest  naval  armament 
since  the  Spanish  Armada — supported  on  land  hy  an 
army  of  forty  thousand  men,  whose  batteries,  mount- 
ed with  the  heaviest  ordnance,  stretched  along  the  shore. 

Against  this  mighty  arraj'  of  force  by  land  and  sea  the 
English  commander,  mustering  every  gun  and  every  man, 
could  oppose  only  ninety-six  pieces  of  artillery,  manned 
by  seven  thousand  soldiers  and  sailors. 

As  the  allied  forces  had  been  waiting  only  for  the  fleet, 
the  attack  was  announced  for  the  following  dny,  and  ac- 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  101 

cordingly  soon  after  the  sun  rose  the  next  morning  the 
battering-ships  were  seen  to  be  getting  under  way.  It 
was  a  grand  sight,  at  which  the  spirits  of  the  besiegers 
rose  to  the  highest  pitch.  So  confident  were  they  of  vic- 
tory that  thousands  of  spectators,  among  whom  were 
many  of  the  Spanish  nobility,  had  gathered  near  the 
"  Queen's  Seat,"  in  the  Spanish  lines,  to  witness  the  final 
capture  of  Gibraltar,  for  which  they  had  been  waiting 
three  long  years. 

Even  the  Englishmen  who  lined  the  ramparts  could  not 
but  admire  the  order  in  which  the  ships  took  up  their  po- 
sitions. So  confident  was  the  Spanish  Admiral  that  they 
were  shot-proof  and  bomb-proof,  that  he  took  no  pains 
to  keep  at  long  range,  but  advanced  boldly  and  moored 
within  half  gunshot,  with  large  boats  full  of  men  ready  to 
land  as  soon  as  the  guns  of  the  fortress  were  silenced. 
To  both  sides  it  was  evident  that  the  decisive  day  had  come. 

While  the  ships  were  being  ranged  in  line  of  battle,  the 
English  stood  at  their  guns  in  silence  till  "  Old  Eliott " 
took  his  stand  on  the  King's  Bastion,  and  gave  the  signal 
for  the  roar  of  earth  and  hell  to  begin.  Instantly  the 
floating  batteries  answered  from  the  whole  line,  and  their 
fire  was  taken  up  along  the  shores  of  the  bay,  till  there 
were  four  hundred  guns  playing  on  the  devoted  town.  No 
thunderstorm  in  the  tropics  ever  shot  out  such  lightnings 
and  thunderings.  As  the  hills  echoed  the  tremendous  re- 
verberations, it  seemed  as  if  the  solid  globe  was  reeling 
under  the  shock  of  an  earthquake. 


102  GIBEALTAR. 

The  ships  at  first  aimed  their  guns  a  little  too  hii^h,  so 
that  balls  and  shells  flew  over  the  line-wall  and  fell  in  the 
rear  ;  but  they  soon  got  the  range,  and  lowering  their 
gnns  to  almost  a  dead-level,  fired  point-blank.  "  xVbont 
noon  their  firing  was  powerful  and  well-directed."  Guns 
were  dismounted,  and  the  wounded  began  to  fall  and  to 
be  carried  to  the  rear.  But  others  took  their  place  at  the 
guns,  and  kept  up  the  steady  fire,  never  turning  from  the 
one  object  directly  in  front.  Although  the  batteries  on 
the  land  tried  to  divert  their  fire,  the  Governor  disdained 
to  answer  them  with  a  single  gun.  "  Kot  there  !  not 
there  !  "  was  the  danger.  His  keen  eye  saw  that  the  fate 
of  Gibraltar  was  to  be  decided  that  day  by  the  answer 
given  to  those  battering  ships  that  were  pouring  such  a 
terrific  fire  into  his  lines.  In  the  midst  of  it  all  he  was  as 
cool  as  if  on  parade.  A  large  part  of  the  day  he  kept 
his  place  on  the  King's  Bastion,  the  centre  at  which  the 
enemy's  fire  was  directed,  and  his  presence  had  an  inspir- 
ing effect  upon  his  men.  To  do  them  justice,  the  sol- 
diers, who  had  served  under  such  a  commander  for  three 
years,  were  worthy  of  their  leader.  As  he  looked 
along  the  lines  they  were  wrapped  in  a  cloud  of  smoke, 
and  yet  now  and  then,  by  the  flashing  of  the  guns, 
he  could  see  their  heroic  features  glowing  "  with  the 
light  of  battle  in  their  faces."  On  that  day,  as  with 
Kelson  twenty-three  years  later,  "  England  expected 
every  man  to  do  his  duty,"  and  did  not  expect  in 
vain. 


THE    GKEAT    SIEGE.  103 

But  for  a  time  all  their  courage  and  skill  seemed  to  be 
without  result.  For  hours  the  battle  raged  with  doubtful 
issue.  Though  the  English  fired  at  such  short  range, 
they  did  not  produce  much  effect.  Their  thirty-two- 
pound  shot  could  not  pierce  the  thick-ribbed  sides  of  the 
battering-ships,  while  their  heaviest  shells  were  seen  to 
rebound  from  the  roofs,  as  the  shots  of  the  Congress  and 
the  Cumberland  rebounded  from  the  roof  of  the  Merri- 
mac.  Apparently  the  fire  of  the  garrison  produced  as 
little  impression  on  the  ships  as  the  fire  of  the  ships  pro- 
duced on  the  rocks  of  Gibraltar. 

The  disparity  of  forces  was  so  great  that  the  allies 
might  have  carried  the  day  if  that  inequality  had  not 
been  balanced  by  one  advantage  of  the  besieged.  They 
had  one  means  of  destruction  which  could  not  be  so  easily 
turned  against  land  defences — in  the  use  of  hot  shot. 
The  experiment  had  been  tried  on  the  works  of  the  be- 
siegers, and  they  now  hoped  it  would  have  still  greater 
effect  upon  the  ships.  But  their  enemies  were  neither 
surprised  nor  daunted  by  this  new  mode  of  attack.  They 
were  fully  aware  of  what  the  English  had  done,  and  what 
they  proposed  to  do,  and  with  true  Castilian  pride 
laughed  at  this  new  method  of  destruction.  So  much  did 
they  despise  it,  that  one  of  the  Spanish  commanders  said 
"  he  would  engage  to  receive  in  his  breast  all  the  hot  shot 
of  the  enemy." 

Meanwhile  "  Old  Eliott "  had  gone  on  with  his  prepara- 
tions.   A  few  days  before,  coal  had  been  served  out  to  the 


104  GIBRALTAE. 

furnaces,  which  had  been  placed  beside  the  batteries. 
These  were  now  kept  at  white  heat,  and  the  heavy  balls 
dropped  into  them  till  they  glowed  like  molten  iron,  and 
then  were  carefully  lifted  to  the  guns.* 

As  the  artillerymen  sighted  their  guns  they  observed 
with  grim  satisfaction  that  the  ships  had  anchored  at 
the  right  distance,  so  that  they  had  but  to  elevate  their 
guns  very  slightly,  just  enough  to  save  the  necessity  of 
ramming  the  ball  M'ith  a  second  wadding  to  hold  it  in 
place ;  and  thus  not  a  moment  was  lost  when  moments 
were  very  precious,  but  the  ball  was  simply  rolled  into  the 
cannon's  mouth,  from  which  it  was  instantly  hurled  at  the 
foe. 

Yet  even  the  hot  shot  did  not  at  first  make  much  im- 
pression. The  French  engineer  had  guarded  against 
them  by  having  pumps  constantly  pouring  water  into  the 
layer  of  sand  below,  where  a  red-hot  cannon-ball  would 
soon  be  rendered  harmless.  In  fact,  a  number  of  times 
during  the  day  smoke  was  seen  to  issue  from  the  floating 
batteries,  showing  that  the  hot  shot  had  taken  effect,  but 
the  flames  were  promptly  extinguished.  It  was  not  till 
late  in  the  afternoon  that  they  began  to  burst  out,  and  it 
was  seen  that  the  Admiral's  ship  was  on  fire.     As  the 


*  "  The  shot  were  heated  either  in  the  grates  and  furnaces  made  for  that 
purpose,  or  by  piling  them  in  a  corner  of  some  old  house  adjoining  the  bat- 
teries, and  surrounding  them  with  faggots,  pieces  of  timber,  and  small  coal." 
Afterwards  "  the  engineers  erected  kilns  (similar  to  those  used  in  burning 
lime,  but  smaller)  in  various  parts  of  the  garrison.  They  were  large  enough 
to  heat  upwards  of  one  hundred  bails  in  an  hour  and  a  quarter. " — JJrinkwater. 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  105 

night  drew  on  the  flames  became  more  visible,  showing 
the  exact  position  of  the  Spanish  line,  and  furnishing  a 
mark  for  the  English  guns.  On  another  ship  the  fires 
advanced  so  rapidly  that  they  had  to  flood  the  magazine 
for  fear  of  an  explosion.  Others  threw  np  rockets,  and 
hoisted  signals  of  distress  to  their  consorts,  and  boats 
were  seen  rowing  toward  them.  At  midnight  nine  out  of 
the  ten  battering-ships  were  on  fii-e.  The  scene  at  this 
moment  was  awful  beyond  description,  as  the  flames 
mounted  higher  and  higher  till  they  lighted  up  the  whole 
bay  and  the  surrounding  shores.  When  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  ships  could  not  be  saved,  there  was  a  panic 
on  board ;  all  discipline  was  lost  in  the  eagerness  to  es- 
cape from  the  burning  decks  ;  sailors  and  gunners  threw 
themselves  into  the  sea.  French  and  Spanish  boats 
picked  up  hundreds,  and  still  there  were  hundreds  more 
who  were  perishing,  whose  agonized  shrieks  rose  upon  the 
midnight  air.  The  English  heard  it,  and  stout  hearts 
that  quailed  not  at  the  roar  of  guns,  quivered 

"  At  the  cry 
Of  some  strong  swimmer  in  his  agony." 

Then  it  was  that  the  English  showed  that  their  couras-e 
was  equalled  by  their  humanity,  as  the  very  men  who  had 
fought  all  day  at  the  guns  pushed  off  in  boats  to  save 
their  foes  from  drowning.  This  was  an  attempt  which 
involved  the  utmost  danger,  for  the  ships  were  on  fire, 
and    might    blow  up    at    any  moment.     But    Brigadier 


106  GIBRALTAR. 

Curtis,  learning  from  the  prisoners  that  hundreds  of 
oflScers  and  men,  some  wounded,  still  remained  on  board, 
forgot  everything  in  his  eagerness  to  save  them.  Care- 
less of  danger  from  the  explosions  which  every  instant 
scattered  fragments  of  wreck  around  him,  he  passed 
from  ship  to  ship,  and  literally  dragged  from  the  burn- 
ing decks  the  miserable  Spaniards  whom  their  own  coun- 
trymen had  left  to  perish.  The  Governor  watched  the 
movement  with  the  iitmost  anxiety,  which  rose  to  "  an- 
guish," to  use  his  own  word,  as  he  saw  the  gallant  oflBcer 
push  his  boat  alongside  one  of  the  largest  ships,  that  was 
a  mass  of  flames.  As  he  stood  transfixed  with  horror  at 
the  sight,  there  came  a  tremendous  explosion,  and  the 
ship  was  blown  into  the  air,  its  fragments  falling  far  and 
wide  over  the  sea.  That  was  a  moment  of  agony,  for  he 
could  not  doubt  that  friend  and  foe  had  perished  together. 
But  as  the  wreck  cleared  away  the  little  pinnace  was 
seen,  by  the  light  of  the  other  burning  ships,  to  be  still 
afloat,  though  shattered.  A  huge  beam  of  timber  had 
fallen  through  her  flooring,  killing  the  coxswain,  wound- 
ing others  of  her  crew,  and  starting  a  large  hole  in  her 
bottom,  through  which  the  water  rushed  so  rapidly  that 
it  seemed  as  if  she  must  sink  in  a  few  minutes.  Bnt 
English  sailors  are  equal  to  anything,  and  stripping  off 
their  jackets  they  stuffed  them  into  the  hole,  and  thus 
kept  the  boat  above  water  till  they  reached  the  shore, 
bringing  with  them  357  of  their  late  enemies,  whom  they 
had  saved  from  a  horrible  death.     The  wounded  were  sent 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  107 

to  the  hospitals  and  treated  with  the  greatest  care ;  and  an 

officer  who  died  four  days  after,  received  the  honors  that 

would  have  been  paid  to  one  of  their  own  countrymen, 

the  grenadiers  following  his  bier  and  firing  their  farewell 

shot 

"  O'er  tlie  grave  where  the  hero  was  buried." 

This  last  act  was  all  that  was  wanting  to  complete  the 
glory  of  England  on  that  immortal  day.  History  records 
the  heroic  conduct  of  British  seamen  at  the  Battle  of  the 
Nile,  when  the  French  Admiral's  ship,  the  Orient,  took 
fire,  and  Nelson  sent  his  boats  to  pick  up  the  drowning 
crew.  While  this  should  be  remembered,  let  it  not  be 
forgotten  that  sixteen  years  before  the  Battle  of  the  Nile, 
the  garrison  of  Gibraltar  had  set  the  splendid  example. 

The  next  morning  saw  the  bay  covered  with  wrecks. 
The  victory  was  complete.  The  siege  was  still  kept  up  in 
form,  and  the  besiegers  continued  firing,  and  for  some 
days  threw  into  the  town  four,  five,  and  six  hundred 
shells,  and  from  six  hundred  to  a  thousand  shot,  every 
twenty-four  hours !  But  this  was  only  the  muttering 
thunder  after  the  storm.  The  battle  was  over,  and  from 
that  day  to  this — more  than  a  hundred  years— the  Red 
Cross  of  England  has  floated  from  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar. 

The  close  of  this  long  and  terrible  conflict  was  like  the 
ending  of  a  play,  when  the  curtain  falls  at  last  upon  a 
scene  of  happy  reunion.  Even  during  the  years  of  fiercest 
strife  the  courtesies  of  war  had  been  strictly  observed. 
Flags  of  truce  passed  between  the  garrison  and  the  camp 


108  GIBRALTAR. 

of  the  besiegers;  prisoners  were  exchanged,  and  now  and 
then  one  or  the  other  of  the  commanders  paid  a  compli- 
ment that  was  well  deserved,  to  the  courage  and  skill  of 
his  antagonist.  Especially  did  the  Due  de  Crillon,  true 
Frenchman  as  he  was,  indulge  in  these  flattering  phrases. 
In  a  letter  written  just  before  the  attack  of  the  battering- 
ships,  he  assures  General  Eliott  of  his  "highest  esteem," 
and  of  "the  pleasure  to  which  I  look  forward  of  becoming 
your  friend,  after  I  shall  have  proved  myself  worthy  of 
the  honor,  by  facing  you  as  an  enemy ! "  That  pleasure 
he  was  now  to  have.  He  had  faced  the  General  as  an 
enemy  ;  he  was  now  to  know  him  as  a  friend. 

For  months,  there  had  been  whispers  in  the  air  of  a 
coming  peace,  and  the  attitude  of  the  contending  parties 
was  more  that  of  armed  neutrality  than  of  active  war. 

At  last  the  announcement  came.  The  besiegers  were 
the  first  to  receive  it,  and  sent  the  news  to  the  garrison  ; 
but  "Old  Eliott,"  true  soldier  as  he  was,  waited  for  orders 
from  home.  At  length  a  British  frigate  sailed  into  the 
harbor  with  the  blessed  tidings  that  Great  Britain  had  ac- 
knowledged the  independence  of  America,  and  that  the 
three  powers — England,  France,  and  Spain — had  sol- 
emnly agreed  to  be  at  peace.  Now  all  barriers  to  inter- 
course were  removed,  and  the  Governor  rode  out  to  meet 
his  late  enemy  at  a  point  midway  between  the  lines. 
Both  Generals  instantly  dismounted  and  embraced,  thus 
answering  a  blow,  or  the  many  blows  given  and  received, 
with  a  kiss.     The  Duke  soon  after  returned  the  visit,  and 


f  aintei  bj  Sir  Josti 


GEORGE    AUGUSTUS   ELIOTT,  LORD   HEATHFIELD,   BARON'   GIBRALTAR. 


[The  above  iiortrait  ot  "  Old  Eliott  "  was  taken  on  his  return  from  Gibraltar,  in  1787,  when  he  was  tlie  hero 
of  England.  The  figure  is  drawn  against  a  background  of  the  clouds  of  war,  with  the  cannon  pointing 
downward,  as  when  fired  from  the  top  of  the  Rock  ;  while  he  holds  firmly  in  his  hand  the  key  of  the  fortress 
he  has  won.  The  face  is  open,  frank,  and  bold,  with  eyes  looking  straight  before  him,  as  it  he  did  not  fear 
any  enemy.  Matiy  liave  reiiiavked  a  likeness  to  Wellington,  with  a  more  prominent  nose,  a  feature  which 
Niipoleoii  iilway^  looked  for  in  one  « lioin  he  chose  for  a  ]>nst  of  peculiar  difficulty  and  danger.] 


THE    GREAT    SIEGE.  109 

found  the  gates  of  Gibraltar,  which  had  not  been  forced 
in  three  and  a  half  years  of  war,  now  thrown  wide  open 
to  his  coming  in  the  attitude  of  peace.  He  was  received 
with  all  the  honors  of  war.  As  he  rode  through  the  gates 
his  appearance  was  greeted  with  loud  huzzas,  which  ran 
along  the  lines,  and  echoed  among  the  hills,  a  salutation 
which  at  first  he  did  not  understand,  and  was  confused  by 
it,  as  it  might  be  interpreted  as  a  cheer  of  triumph  over  a 
fallen  enemy  ;  but  when  it  was  explained  to  him  that  it 
was  the  way  in  which  English  soldiers  greeted  one  whom 
they  recognized  as  a  hero,  he  was  very  much  flattered  by 
the  demonstration.  As  the  artillery  officers  were  pre- 
sented to  him  he  complimented  them  highly  on  their 
courage  and  skill,  saying  pleasantly  (no  one  could  doubt 
his  sincerity  in  this)  that  he  "  would  rather  see  them 
here  as  friends  than  on  their  batteries  as  enemies !  '' 
And  so  at  last,  after  these  long  and  terrible  years,  the 
curtain  fell  on  a  scene  as  peaceful  as  ever  ended  a  tragedy 
on  the  stage. 

Such  are  the  heroic  memories  which  gather  round  Gib- 
raltar, and  overshadow  it  as  its  mighty  crags  cast  their 
shadows  on  the  sea.  Let  us  not  say,  "  All  this  is  nothing 
to  us,  because  we  are  neither  Englishmen,  nor  French- 
men, nor  Spaniards."  "  We  are  men,  and  whatever  con- 
cerns man  concerns  us."  If  it  be  indeed  "  beautiful  to  die 
for  one's  country,"  the  spot  is  holy  ground  where,  for  the 
dear  sake  of  "  country,"  brave  men  have  fought  and 
died. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

HOLDING  A  FORTEESS  IN  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY. 

THERE  is  one  thing  in  Gibraltar  which  strikes  me  un- 
pleasantly, and  yet  (such  are  tlie  contradictions  in 
our  likes  and  dislikes)  it  is  the  very  thing  which  has  made 
it  so  attractive,  viz.,  the  English  occupation.  For  pictu- 
resqueness  of  situation,  the  mighty  Rock,  standing  at  the 
entering  in  of  the  seas,  is  unique  in  the  world,  and  the  out- 
look along  the  shores  of  Africa  and  Europe  is  enough  to 
captivate  the  eye  of  the  most  sight- worn  traveller.  And 
the  people  who  hold  this  rock-fortress  are  worthy  to  be 
its  masters,  for  they  are  not  only  brave,  as  soldiers  are 
by  profession,  but  they  have  all  the  manly  qualities  of 
the  English  race ;  they  are  chivalrous  and  generous.  No- 
where does  English  hospitality  appear  more  charming.  If 
ever  a  man  had  occasion  to  like  Gibraltar  and  the  English 
in  Gibraltar,  I  have ;  and  I  shall  keep  them  both  in  grate- 
ful memory. 

And  yet— and  yet — in  this  general  accord  of  pleased 
reflection,  which  comes  to  me  in  the  midst  of  these  happy 
days,  there  is  one  thing  which  strikes  a  discordant  note. 
The  English  are  here,  not  by  right  of  birth,  but  of  con- 


HOLDING  A  FORTEESS  IN  A  FOEEIGN  COUNTEY.      Ill 

quest.  Gibraltar  is  not  a  part  of  England  :  it  is  a  part  of 
Spain,  to  which  it  belongs  by  nature,  if  nature  has  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  boundaries  of  States.  True,  the 
English  have  taken  it  and  hold  it,  and  by  the  right  of 
war  it  belongs  to  them,  as  a  fortress  belongs  to  the  power 
that  is  strongest.  Yet  that  does  not  change  the  relation 
of  things,  any  more  than  it  changes  the  geographical  po- 
sition of  the  captured  fortress.  And  so  it  remains  that 
England  holds  Gibraltar,  I  will  not  say  in  an  enemy's 
country,  but  certainly  in  a  foreign  country — a  fact  which, 
however  it  be  disguised,  it  is  not  pleasant  to  contemplate. 
The  stranger  does  not  feel  this  so  much  while  he  is  in- 
side the  gates  as  when  he  leaves  the  town  and  goes  out 
into  the  country.  Perhaps  the  reader  will  share  my  feel- 
ing if  he  will  give  me  the  pleasure  of  his  company.  It 
was  a  bright,  crisp  winter  afternoon  that  a  friend  from 
Boston  and  I  planned  an  excursion  on  foot.  But  stop  a 
moment !  When  I  travelled  in  the  East  I  learned  the 
wisdom  of  the  old  Oriental  custom  of  "  girding  up  the 
loins  " ;  and  so,  stepping  into  a  shop  in  Waterport  Street, 
1  bought  something  like  a  soldier's  belt,  my  only  military 
trapping,  with  which  I  braced  myself  so  firmly  together 
that  I  felt  "  in  prime  marching  order,"  and  away  we  went 
at  a  swinging  gait,  as  merry  as  two  New  England  boys 
out  of  school  and  oif  for  a  holiday.  It  is  not  a  long  walk 
to  the  gates,  and  once  through  them  and  outside  the  walls 
we  took  a  long  breath  as  we  once  more  inhaled  the  free 
air  of  the  country. 


112  GIBRALTAK. 

At  a  little  distance  we  came  to  a  row  of  sentries — a  line 
of  red-coats  that  kept  guard  over  the  majesty  of  England, 
Then  a  half-mile  walk  across  a  low,  sandy  plain — the  Keu- 
tral  Ground — and  we  came  to  another  line  of  sentinels  in 
different  uniforms  and  speaking  a  different  tongue,  a  lit- 
tle beyond  which  is  Linea  (so  named  from  its  being  just 
beyond  the  lines),  a  place  of  twelve  thousand  inhabitants, 
which  has  the  three  requisites  of  a  Spanish  town — a 
church,  a  market,  and  a  bull-ring ! 

Here  was  the  situation :  a  double  line  of  soldiers  fac- 
ing each  other,  not  in  a  hostile  attitude,  not  training  their 
guns  on  each  other,  bat  certainly  not  in  a  position  which 
was  calculated  to  promote  friendly  relations. 

Strolling  through  the  town  it  seemed  to  us  (perhaps  it 
was  only  imagination)  that  there  was  a  sullen  look  in  the 
faces  of  the  people ;  that  they  did  not  regard  Englishmen, 
or  those  speaking  the  English  tongue,  with  special  affec- 
tion. Linea  has  a  bad  name  for  being  a  nest  of  smug- 
glers ;  but  whether  it  is  worse  than  other  frontier  towns, 
which  afford  special  facilities  for  smuggling,  and  there- 
fore offer  great  temptations,  I  cannot  say.  It  was  not  an 
attractive  place,  and  after  an  hour's  walk  we  retraced  our 
steps  back  to  our  fortress  home. 

As  we  turned  toward  the  Rock  we  were  facing  the 
British  Lion  just  as  the  descending  sun  was  putting  a 
crown  upon  his  royal  head.  Kever  did  he  wear  a  more 
kingly  look  than  in  that  evening  sky.  If  the  God  of  War 
has  a  throne  on  earth,  it  must  be  on  that  height,  more 


HOLDING  A  FORTRESS  IN  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY.      113 

than  a  thousand  feet  in  air,  looking  down  on  the  petty 
human  creatui-es  below,  all  of  whom  he  could  destroy  with 
one  breath  of  his  nostrils. 

It  was  indeed  a  glorious  sight.  But  how  do  the  Span- 
iards like  it  ?  How  should  we  like  it  if  we  were  in  their 
place  ?  This  was  a  very  inconvenient  question  to  be 
asked  just  at  that  moment,  as  we  were  crossing  the  Neu- 
tral Ground.  But  if  I  must  answer,  I  cannot  but  say 
that,  if  I  were  a  Spanish  sentinel,  pacing  back  and  forth 
in  such  a  presence  and  compelled  at  every  turn  to  look  up 
at  that  Lion  frowning  over  me,  it  would  be  with  a  very 
bitter  feeling.  I  might  even  ask  my  English  friends 
who  are  masters  of  Gibraltar,  how  they  would  like  to 
see  the  flag  of  another  country  floating  over  a  part  of 
their  country  ? 

Of  course,  the  retention  of  Gibraltar  is  to  England  a 
matter  of  pride.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  see  the  red  cross 
flying  on  the  top  of  the  Rock  in  the  sight  of  two  conti- 
nents, and  of  all  who  go  sailing  up  and  down  in  these 
waters.  But  this  pride  has  to  be  paid  for  by  a  good 
many  entanglements  of  one  kind  and  another. 

For  example :  It  is  a  constant  source  of  complaint  on 
the  part  of  Spain  that  Gibraltar  is  the  headquarters  for 
smuggling  across  the  frontier.  This  is  not  at  all  surpris- 
ing, since  (like  Singapore  and  perhaps  other  distant  places 
in  the  British  Empire)  it  is  a  "free  port."  Its  deliverance 
from  commercial  restrictions  dates  back  to  the  reio-n  of 

Queen  Anne,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  century — an  im- 
8 


114  GIBEALTAE. 

munity  which  it  has  enjoyed  for  nearly  two  hundred 
years.  A  few  years  since  a  light  restriction  was  placed 
upon  wines  and  spirits,  probably  for  a  moral  rather  than 
a  commercial  purpose,  lest  their  too  great  abundance 
misrht  lead  to  drunkenness  among  the  soldiers.  But  with 
respect  to  everything  else  used  by  man,  trade  is  absolutely 
free ;  whatever  is  brought  here  for  sale  is  not  burdened 
with  the  added  tax  of  an  import  duty.  Though  Gibraltar 
is  so  near  Tarifa,  there  is  no  tariff  levied  on  merchan- 
dise any  more  than  on  voyagers  that  go  up  and  down  the 
seas.  Kot  only  English  goods,  but  French  and  Italian 
goods,  all  are  free ;  even  those  which,  if  imported  into 
England,  would  pay  duty,  here  pay  none,  so  that  they  are 
cheaper  than  in  England  itself.  Thus  Gibraltar  is  the 
paradise  of  free-traders,  since  in  it  there  is  no  such  "  ac- 
cursed thing  "  as  a  custom-house,  and  no  such  hated  of- 
ficial as  a  custom-house  officer !  This  puts  it  at  an  ad- 
vantage as  compared  with  any  port  or  city  or  country 
which  is  not  free,  and  they  have  to  suffer  from  the  differ- 
ence. Especially  does  Spain,  which  is  not  yet  converted 
to  free  trade,  suffer  from  its  close  contact  with  its  more 
liberal  neighbor.  The  extraordinary  cheapness  on  one 
side  of  the  Neutral  Ground,  as  compared  with  the  dear- 
ness  on  the  other,  is  a  temptation  to  smuggling  which  it 
requires  more  virtue  than  the  Spaniards  possess  to  resist. 
The  temptation  takes  them  on  their  weakest  side  when 
it  presents  itself  in  the  form  of  tobacco,  for  the  Span- 
iards are   a  nation  of  smokers.     The  manufacture  and 


HOLDING  A  FOETRESS  IN  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY.      115 

sale  of  tobacco  is  a  monopoly  of  the  Government,  and 
yields  a  large  revenue,  amounting,  I  believe,  to  fifteen 
millions  of  dollars.  It  might  amount  to  twice  as  much 
if  every  smoker  in  Spain  bought  only  Spanish  tobacco. 
But  who  will  pay  the  price  for  the  Government  cigars 
and  cigarettes  when  they  can  be  obtained  without  paying 
duty  ?  Smuggling  is  going  on  every  day,  and  every  hour 
of  the  day;  and  the  Spaniards  say  that  it  is  winked  at 
and  encouraged  by  the  English  in  Gibraltar  ;  to  which 
the  latter  reply  that  whatever  smuggling  is  done,  is  done 
by  the  Spaniards  themselves,  for  which  they  are  not  re- 
sponsible. A  shopkeeper  in  Gibraltar  has  as  good  a  right 
to  sell  a  pound  of  tobacco  to  a  Spanish  peasant  as  to  an 
English  sailor.  What  becomes  of  it  after  it  leaves  his 
shop  is  no  concern  of  his.  Of  course  the  Spanish  police 
are  numerous,  and  are,  or  are  supposed  to  be,  vigilant.  The 
Carabineros  are  stationed  at  the  lines,  whose  duty  it  is  to 
keep  a  sharp  look-out  on  every  passing  vehicle  ;  whether 
it  be  a  lordly  carriage  rolling  swiftly  by,  or  a  market 
wagon  ;  to  poke  their  noses  into  every  little  cart ;  to  lift 
up  the  panniers  of  every  donkey  ;  and  even  to  thrust 
their  hands  into  every  basket,  and  to  give  a  pinch  to 
every  suspicious-looking  parcel.  And  yet,  with  this  great 
display  of  watchfulness,  which  indeed  is  a  little  overdone, 
somehow  an  immense  quantity  slips  through  their  fingers. 
Many  amusing  stories  are  told  of  contrabandists.  One 
honest  Spaniard  had  a  wonderful  dog  that  went  through 
miraculous  transformations :  he  was  sometimes  fat  and 


116  GIBRALTAE. 

sometimes  lean,  nature  (or  man)  having  provided  him 
with  a  double  skin,  between  which  was  packed  a  hand- 
some allowance  of  tobacco.  This  dog  was  a  model  of  do- 
cility, and  would  play  with  other  dogs,  like  the  poor  inno- 
cent that  he  was,  and  then  dart  off  to  his  master  to  "  un- 
load "  and  be  sent  back  again !  It  was  said  that  he 
would  make  several  trips  a  day.  In  another  case  a  poor 
man  tried  to  make  an  honest  living  by  raising  turkeys  for 
market ;  but  even  then  fate  had  a  spite  against  him,  for 
after  he  had  brought  them  into  town,  he  had  no  luck  in 
selling  them !  The  same  ill-fortune  attended  him  every 
day.  But  one  evening,  as  he  came  out  of  the  gates  look- 
ing sad  and  sorrowful,  the  Carabineros  took  a  closer  in- 
spection of  his  cart,  and  found  that  every  turkey  had 
been  prepared  for  another  market  than  that  of  Gibraltar, 
by  a  well-spiced  "stuffing  "  under  her  motherly  wings  ! 

Of  course  the  Spanish  officers  are  indignant  at  the  du- 
plicity wiiich  permits  this  smuggling  to  take  place,  and 
litter  great  oaths  in  sonorous  Castilian  against  their 
treacherous  neighbors.  But  even  the  guardians  of  the 
law  may  fall  from  virtue.  The  Governor,  who  took  of- 
fice here  but  a  few  weeks  since,  tells  me  that  when  the 
Governor  of  Algeciras,  the  Spanish  town  across  the  bay, 
came  to  pay  his  respects  to  him,  the  officers  of  his  suite, 
while  their  horses  were  standing  in  the  court  of  the  Con- 
vent [the  Government  House],  filled  their  pockets  with 
tobacco !  Fit  agents  indeed  to  collect  the  revenue  of 
Spain ! 


HOLDING  A  FOKTRESS  11^  A  FOEEIGI^T  COUNTEY.      117 

But  smuggling  is  not  the  worst  of  the  complications 
that  arise  out  of  having  a  fortress  in  a  foreign  country. 
Another  is  that  Gibraltar  becomes  the  resort  of  all  the 
characters  that  find  Spain  too  hot  to  hold  them.  Men 
who  have  committed  offences  against  Spanish  law,  flee 
across  the  lines  and  claim  protection.  Some  of  them  are 
political  refugees,  who  have  escaped  from  a  Government 
that  would  persecute  and  perhaps  imprison  them  for  their 
opinions,  and  find  safety  nnder  the  English  flag.  The 
necessity  for  this  protection  is  not  so  great  now  as  in  for- 
mer years,  when  the  Government  of  Spain  was  a  despot- 
ism as  absolute  and  intolerant  as  any  in  Europe.  Even  so 
late  as  thirty  years  ago,  Castelar  would  have  been  shot  if 
he  had  not  escaped  across  the  frontier  into  Switzerland  ; 
as  his  father,  twenty  years  before,  had  been  sentenced  to 
death,  and  would  have  been  executed  if  he  had  not  made 
haste  to  get  inside  of  Gibraltar,  and  remained  here  seven 
years.  In  his  case,  as  in  many  others,  the  old  fortress 
was  a  bulwark  against  tyranny.  Within  these  walls  the 
laws  of  national  hospitality  were  sacred.  No  Spanish  pa- 
triot could  be  taken  from  under  this  flag,  to  be  sent  to 
the  dungeon  or  the  scaffold.  All  honor  to  England,  that 
she  has  a  City  of  Refuge  for  the  free  and  the  brave  of  all 
lands,  and  that  she  has  so  often  sheltered  and  saved  those 
who  were  the  champions,  and  but  for  her  would  have 
been  the  martyrs,  of  liberty  ! 

But  the  greater  number  of  those  who  seek  a  refuge 
here   have  no   claim   to  protection,  since   they  are   not 


118  GIBRALTAR. 

political  refugees,  but  ordinary  criminals — thieves,  and 
sometimes  murderers — who  have  fled  here  to  escape  the 
punishment  of  their  crimes.  In  such  cases  it  is  easy 
to  say  what  should  be  done  with  tliem  :  they  should  be 
given  up  at  once  to  the  Spanish  authorities,  to  be  tried 
by  Spanish  law  and  receive  the  just  reward  of  their 
deeds. 

If  all  cases  were  like  these,  tlie  disposition  of  them 
would  be  a  very  simple  matter.  But  they  are  not  all  so 
clear ;  some  of  them,  indeed,  are  very  complex,  involving 
questions  of  international  law,  which  an  army  officer,  or 
even  a  civil  officer,  might  not  understand.  A  man  may 
be  accused  of  crime  by  the  Spanish  authorities,  and  yet, 
in  the  eye  of  impartial  judges  of  another  country,  be 
guilty  of  no  greater  crime  than  loving  his  country  too 
well.  But  the  Spanish  Government  demands  his  surren- 
der. The  case  is  referred  to  the  Colonial  Secretary,  as 
the  highest  authority  in  Gibraltar  next  to  the  Governor. 
It  is  a  grave  responsibility,  which  requires  not  only  a  dis- 
position to  do  what  is  right  and  just,  but  a  knowledge  of 
law  which  a  military  or  a  civil  officer  may  not  possess. 
The  present  Secretary  is  Lord  Gilford,  and  a  more  hon- 
orable English  gentleman  it  would  be  impossible  to  find. 
But  though  a  gallant  soldier,  brave  and  accomplished  as 
he  is,  he  may  not  be  familiar  with  all  the  points  which  he 
may  have  to  decide.  He  tells  me  that  this  matter  of  ex- 
tradition is  the  most  difficult  duty  that  is  laid  upon  him. 
He  said,  "  I  have  two  cases  before  me  to-day,"  in  the  de* 


HOLDING  A  FORTRESS  IN  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY.      119 

cision  of  which  he  seemed  a  good  deal  perplexed.  With 
the  most  earnest  desire  to  decide  right,  he  might  decide 
wrong.  His  predecessor  had  been  removed  for  extradit- 
ing a  man  without  proper  authority.  He  told  me  the  in- 
cident to  illustrate  the  responsibility  of  his  position,  and 
the  extreme  difficulty  of  adjudicating  cases  which  are  of  a 
doubtful  character.  It  was  this :  The  island  of  Cuba,  as 
Americans  know  too  well,  is  in  a  chronic  state  of  insur- 
rection. In  one  of  the  numerous  outbreaks,  a  man  who 
was  implicated  made  his  escape,  and  took  refuge  in  Tan- 
gier, and  while  there  asked  of  some  visitors  from  Gibral- 
tar if  he  would  be  safe  here,  to  which  they  promptly  re- 
plied, "  Certainly  ;  that  he  could  not  be  given  up,"  and 
on  the  strength  of  that  assurance  he  came ;  but  the  Span- 
ish agents  were  watching,  and  somehow  managed  to  in- 
fluence the  officers  here  to  surrender  him.  The  English 
Government  promptly  disavowed  the  act,  and  claimed 
that  the  man  was  still  under  their  protection,  and  should 
be  brought  back.  This  Spanish  pride  did  not  permit 
them  to  do.  However,  he  was  sent  to  Port  Malion,  in 
the  Balearic  Islands,  and  there  (perhaps  by  the  conniv- 
ance of  the  authorities,  who  may  have  thought  it  the 
easiest  way  to  get  rid  of  a  troublesome  question)  he  was 
not  so  closely  guarded  but  that  he  was  able  to  make  his 
escape,  and  so  the  matter  ended.  But  the  Colonial  Secre- 
tary who  had  permitted  his  extradition  was  promptly  re- 
called, in  disapprobation  of  his  conduct.  With  such  a 
warning  before  him,  as  well  as  from  his  own  desire  to  do 


120  GIBRALTAR. 

justice,  the  present  Secretary  wislied  to  act  with  due  prU' 
dence  and  caution,  that  he  might  not  share  the  fate  of  his 
predecessor.  I  could  but  admire  his  patience  and  care, 
and  yet  a  stranger  can  but  reflect  that  all  this  complica- 
tion and  embarrassment  comes  from  holding  a  fortress  in 
a  foreign  country  ! 

But  while  this  is  true,  yet  what  are  such  petty  vexa- 
tions as  smuggling  and  extradition ;  what  is  the  million  of 
dollars  a  year  which  it  costs  to  keep  Gibraltar  ;  in  a  mat- 
ter which  concerns  the  majesty  and  the  colossal  pride  of 
England — the  sense  of  power  to  hold  her  own  against  the 
world  ?  A  hundred  years  ago  Burke  spoke  of  Gibraltar 
with  exultation  as  "a  post  of  power,  a  post  of  superiority, 
of  connection,  of  commerce — one  which  makes  us  invalu- 
able to  our  friends  and  dreadful  to  our  enemies;"  and 
the  feeling  has  survived  to  this  day.  Not  an  Englishman 
passes  through  the  Straits  whose  heart  does  not  swell 
within  him  to  see  the  flag  of  his  country  floating  from 
the  top  of  the  Bock,  from  which,  as  he  believes,  the 
whole  world  cannot  tear  it  down.  Every  true  Briton 
would  look  upon  the  lowering  of  that  flag  as  the  abdica- 
tion of  Imperial  power. 

But  is  not  this  an  over-estimate  of  the  value  of  Gib- 
raltar to  England  ?  Is  it  worth  all  it  costs  ?  Would  it 
weio-h  much  in  the  balance  in  a  o-reat  contest  of  nations 
for  the  mastery  of  the  M'orld  ?  The  object  of  this  Bock- 
fortress  is  to  command  the  passage  into  the  Mediterra- 
nean.    The  arms  of  Gibraltar  are  a  Castle  and  a  Key,  to 


HOLDING  A  FORTRESS  IIS"  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY.      121 

signify  that  it  holds  the  key  of  the  Straits,  and  that  no 
ship  flying  any  other  flag  than  that  of  England  can  enter 
or  depart  except  by  her  permission.  But  that  power  is 
already  gone.  England  may  hold  the  key  of  the  Straits, 
but  the  door  is  too  wide  to  be  bolted.  The  hundred-ton 
guns  of  Gibraltar,  even  if  aimed  directly  seaward,  could 
not  destroy  or  stop  a  passing  fleet.  I  know  this  is  not  the 
limit  of  construction  in  modern  ordnance.  Guns  have 
been  wrought  weighing  a  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  which 
throw  a  ball  weighing  a  ton  over  ten  miles !  Such  a  gun 
mounted  at  Tarifa  might  indeed  hurl  its  tremendous  bolt 
across  the  Mediterranean  into  Africa,  But  Tarifa  is  in 
Spain,  while  opposite  Gibraltar  it  is  fourteen  miles  to 
Ceuta,  a  point  not  to  be  reached  by  any  ordnance  in  ex- 
istence, even  if  the  last  product  of  modern  warfare  were 
mounted  on  the  height  of  O'Hara's  Tower ;  so  that  a  fleet 
of  ironclads,  hugging  the  African  coast,  would  be  quite 
safe  from  the  English  fire,  which  could  not  prevent  the 
entrance  of  a  French  or  German  or  Russian  fleet  into  the 
Mediterranean,  if  it  were  strong  enough  to  encounter  the 
English  fleet. 

The  reliance  must  be  therefore  on  the  fleet,  not  on  the 
fortress.  Of  course  the  latter  would  be  a  refuge  in  case 
of  disaster,  where  the  English  ships  could  find  protection 
under  the  guns  of  the  fort.  But  the  fortress  alone  could 
not  bar  the  passage  into  the  Mediterranean. 

As  to  the  fleet,  England  has  been  mistress  of  the  seas 
for  more  than  a  century ;  and  yet  it  does  not  follow  that 


122  GIBRALTAR. 

she  will  always  retain  this  supremacy.  Her  fleet  is  still 
the  largest  and  most  powerful  in  the  world,  and  her  sea- 
men as  skilful  and  as  brave  as  in  the  days  of  Nelson  ;  but 
the  conditions  of  naval  warfare  are  greatly  changed.  Tlie 
use  of  steam  for  ships  of  war  as  well  as  for  commerce,  and 
the  building  of  ironclads  mounted  with  enormous  guns, 
tend  to  equalize  the  conditions  of  war.  Battles  may  be 
decided  by  the  weight  of  guns  or  the  thickness  of  defen- 
sive armor,  and  in  these  particulars  other  nations  have  ad- 
vanced as  well  as  England.  France,  Germany,  and  Russia 
have  vied  with  each  other  as  to  which  should  build  the 
most  tremendous  ships  of  war.  Even  Italy  has  within  a 
few  years  risen  to  the  rank  of  a  first-class  naval  power,  as 
she  has  some  of  the  largest  ships  in  the  world.  The 
Italia,  which  I  saw  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Naples,  could 
probably  have  destroyed  the  whole  fleet  with  which  Kel- 
son won  the  battle  of  Trafalgar ;  and  hence  the  Italian 
fleet  must  be  counted  as  a  factor  of  no  second  importance 
in  any  future  struggle  for  the  control  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean. 

And  yet  some  military  authorities  think  too  much  im- 
portance is  attached  to  these  modern  inventions.  Farra- 
gut  did  not  believe  in  iron  ships.  He  judged  from  his 
own  experience  in  naval  warfare,  and  no  man  liad  had 
greater.  He  had  found  wooden  ships  good  enough  to  win 
liis  splendid  victories.  In  his  famous  attack  upon  Mobile 
he  ran  his  fleet  close  under  the  guns  of  the  fort,  himself 
standing  in  the  round-top  of  his  flag-ship  to  overlook  the 


HOLDING  A  FORTKESS  IIST  A  FOEEIGN  COUNTRY.      123 

wliole  scene  of  battle,  and  then  boldly  attacked  ironclads, 
and  sunk  them  in  the  open  bay.  His  motto  was: 
"  Wooden  ships  and  iron  hearts ! ''  Ships  and  guns  are 
good,  but  men  are  better.  And  so  I  do  not  give  up  my 
faith  in  English  prowess  and  skill,  but  hold  that,  what- 
ever the  improvements  in  ships  or  guns,  to  the  last  hour 
that  men  meet  each  other  face  to  face  in  battle,  the  issue 
will  depend  largely  on  a  genius  in  war ;  on  the  daring  to 
seize  unexpected  opportunities ;  to  take  advantage  of  sud- 
den changes ;  and  thus  by  some  master-stroke  to  turn 
what  seemed  inevitable  defeat  into  victoiy. 

In  the  year  1867  I  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the  Great 
Eastern,  then  in  command  of  Sir  James  Anderson. 
Among  the  passengers  was  the  Austrian  Admiral  Tegett- 
hoff,  who  had  the  year  before  gained  the  battle  of  Lissa, 
with  whom  I  formed  a  pleasant  acquaintance ;  and  as  we 
walked  the  deck  together,  drew  from  him  some  particu- 
lars of  that  great  victory.  He  was  as  modest  as  he  was 
brave,  and  did  not  like  to  talk  of  himself ;  but  in  answer 
to  my  inquiries,  said  that  before  the  battle  he  knew  the 
immense  superiority  of  the  Italian  fleet ;  and  that  his  only 
hope  of  victory  was  in  disregarding  all  the  ordinary  rules 
of  naval  warfare :  that,  instead  of  drawing  up  his  ships  in 
the  usual  line  of  battle,  he  must  rush  into  the  centre  of 
the  enemy,  and  confuse  them  by  the  suddenness  of  his 
attack  where  they  did  not  expect  him.  The  manoeuvre 
was  successful  even  beyond  his  own  expectation.  The 
Re  cV  Italia,  the  flagship  of  the  Italian  Admiral,  which  had 


124  GIBRALTAE. 

been  built  in  New  York  as  the  masterpiece  of  naval  arclii 
tecture,  was  sunk,  and  the  fleet  utterly  defeated !  What 
Tegetthoff  did  at  Lissa,  the  English  may  do  in  future 
battles.  Of  this  I  am  sure,  that  whatever  can  be  done  by 
courage  and  skill  will  be  done  by  the  sons  of  the  Vikings 
to  retain  their  mastery  of  the  sea.  But  it  would  be  too 
much  to  expect  of  any  power  that  it  could  stand  against 
the  combined  navies  of  the  world. 

If  Gibraltar  be  thus  powerless  for  offence,  is  it  alto- 
gether secure  for  defence  ?  Is  it  really  impregnable  ? 
That  is  a  question  often  asked,  and  on  which  only  mili- 
tary men  are  competent  to  give  an  opinion,  and  even  they 
are  divided.  Englishmen,  who  are  most  familiar  with  its 
defences,  say.  Yes !  Those  defences  have  been  enormous- 
ly increased  even  in  our  day.  In  the  Great  Siege  we  saw 
its  powers  of  resistance  a  hundred  years  ago.  Yet  Eliott 
defeated  the  French  and  Spanish  fleets  and  armies  with 
less  than  a  hundred  guns.  Ninety  years  later — in  1870 — 
there  were  seven  hundred  guns  in  position  on  the  Rock, 
the  smallest  of  which  were  larger  than  the  heaviest 
used  in  the  siege.  And  yet  since  1870  the  increase  in 
the  size  of  guns  and  their  weight  of  metal,  is  greater  than 
in  the  hundred  years  before.  In  the  siege  it  was  counted 
a  wonderful  shot  that  carried  a  ball  two  miles  and  a  half. 
Now  the  hundred-ton  guns  carry  over  eight  miles.  Putting 
these  things  together,  English  officers  maintain  that  Gib- 
raltar cannot  be  taken  by  all  the  powers  of  Europe  com- 
bined. 


HOLDING  A  FOETRESS  IIST  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY.      125 

On  the  other  hand,  French  and  German  engineers — fa- 
miliar with  the  new  inventions  in  war,  and  knowing  that 
they  can  use  dynamite  and  nitro-glycerine,  instead  of  gun- 
powder, to  give  tremendous  force  to  the  new  projectiles — 
wonld  probably  say  that  there  is  no  fortress  which  cannot 
be  battered  down.  To  me,  who  am  but  a  layman  in  such 
matters,  as  I  walk  about  Gibraltar,  it  seems  that,  if  all  the 
armies  of  Europe  should  come  up  against  it,  they  could 
make  no  impression  on  its  rock-ribbed  sides ;  that  only 
some  convulsion  of  nature  could  shake  its  "  everlastins: 
foundations."  And  yet  such  is  the  power  of  modern  ex- 
plosives to  rend  the  rocks  and  hills,  with  a  new  invention 
every  year  of  something  still  more  terrible,  that  we  know 
not  but  they  may  at  last  almost  tear  the  solid  globe 
asunder.  What  wreck  and  ruin  of  the  works  of  man  may 
be  wrought  by  such  engines  of  destruction,  it  is  not  given 
us  to  foresee. 

Meanwhile  to  the  Spaniards  the  English  possession  of 
Gibraltar  is  a  constant  irritation.  It  is  of  no  use  to  re- 
mind them  that  they  had  it  once,  and  might  have  kept  it ; 
that  is  no  comfort ;  it  only  makes  the  matter  worse ;  for 
they  are  like  spoiled  children,  who  grieve  the  most  for 
that  which  they  have  thrown  away.  Again  it  was  offered 
to  them  by  England,  with  only  the  condition  that  they 
should  not  sell  Florida  to  Napoleon  ;  but  as  he  was  then 
in  the  height  of  his  career,  they  thought  it  safer  to  trust 
to  his  protection  ;  albeit  a  few  years  later  they  found  out 
his  treachery,  and  had  to  depend  on  an  English  army,  led 


126  GIBEALTAE. 

bj  Wellington,  to  drive  the  French  out  of  Spain.  And 
still  these  spoiled  children  of  the  South  will  not  recognize 
the  English  sovereignty.  To  this  day  the  King  of  Spain 
claims  Gibraltar  as  a  part  of  his  dominions,  though  he 
recognizes  it  as  "  temporarily  in  the  possession  of  the 
English,"  and  all  who  are  born  on  the  Kock  are  entitled 
to  the  rights  of  Spanish  subjects  ! 

But  whether  Gibraltar  can  be  "  taken  "  or  not  by  siege 
or  storm,  in  the  course  of  human  events  there  may  be  a 
turn  of  fortune  which  shall  compel  England  to  surrender 
it.  If  there  should  come  a  general  European  war,  in 
which  there  should  be  (what  the  first  Xapoleon  endeav- 
ored to  effect)  a  combination  of  all  the  Continental 
powers  against  England,  she  might,  standing  alone,  be 
reduced  to  such  extremity  as  to  be  obliged  to  sue  for 
peace,  and  one  of  the  hard  conditions  forced  upon  her 
might  be  the  surrender  of  Gibraltar  ! 

But  while  we  may  speculate  on  such  a  possibility  of 
the  future,  it  is  not  a  change  which  I  desire  to  see  in  my 
day.  The  transfer  of  Gibraltar  to  Spain  might  satisfy 
Spanish  pride,  but  I  fear  that  it  would  be  no  longer  what 
it  is  if  it  had  not  the  treasury  of  England  to  supply  its 
numerous  wants.  The  Spaniards  are  not  good  managers, 
and  Gibraltar  would  ere  long  sink  into  the  condition  of  an 
old,  decayed  Spanish  town.  Further  than  this,  I  confess 
that,  as  a  "matter  of  sentiment,  it  would  be  no  pleasure  to 
me  to  visit  it  if  the  charm  of  its  present  society  were 
gone.     I  should  miss  greatly  the  EngHsli  faces,  so  manly 


HOLDING  A  FORTEESS  IN  A  FOREIGN  COUNTRY.      127 

and  yet  so  kindly,  and  the  dear  old  mother  tongue.  So 
while  I  live  I  hope  Gibraltar  will  be  held  by  English  sol- 
diers.    "  After  me  the  deluge  !  " 

No :  not  the  deluge,  but  universal  peace  !  Let  the  old 
Rock  remain  as  it  is.  Lover  of  peace  as  I  am,  I  should 
be  sorry  to  see  it  dismantled.  It  would  not  be  the  same 
thing  if  it  were  to  become  another  Capri — a  mere  resort 
for  artists,  who  should  sit  upon  Europa  Point,  and  make 
their  sketches ;  or  if  lovers  only  should  saunter  in  the 
Alameda  gardens,  whispering  softly  as  they  look  out  upon 
the  moonlit  sea.  The  mighty  crag  that  bears  the  name 
of  Hercules  should  bear  on  its  front  something  which 
speaks  of  power.  Let  the  Great  Fortress  remain  as  the 
grim  monument  of  War,  even  when  men  learn  war  no 
more ;  as  the  castles  on  the  Rhine  are  kept  as  the  monu- 
ments of  mediaeval  barbarism.  If  its  guns  are  all  silent, 
or  unshotted,  it  will  stand  for  something  more  than  a 
symbol  of  brute  force :  it  will  be  a  monumental  proof 
that  the  blessed  age  of  peace  has  come.  Then,  if  there 
be  any  change  in  the  flag  that  waves  over  it ;  if  the  Red 
Cross  of  England,  which  has  never  been  lowered  in  war, 
should  give  place  to  an  emblem  of  universal  peace ;  it 
may  be  a  Red  Cross  still — red  in  sign  of  blood,  but  only 
of  that  blood  which  was  shed  alike  for  all  nations,  and 
which  is  yet  to  unite  in  One  Brotherhood  the  whole  Fam- 
ily of  Mankind. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FAREWELL  TO  GIBRALTAR— LEAVING  FOR  AFRICA. 

A  LL  too  swiftly  the  days  flew  by,  and  the  time  of  my 
visit  to  Gibraltar  was  coming  to  an  end.  But  in 
travel  I  have  often  found  that  the  last  taste  was  the 
sweetest.  It  is  only  when  you  have  come  to  know  a  place 
well  that  you  can  fully  enjoy  it  ;  when  emancipated  from 
guides,  with  no  self-appointed  cicerone  to  dog  your  foot- 
steps and  intrude  his  stereotyped  observations  ;  when,  in 
short,  you  have  obtained  "  the  freedom  of  the  place  "  by 
right  of  familiar  acquaintance,  and  can  wander  about 
alone,  sauntering  slowly  in  favorite  walks,  or  sitting 
under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  and  looking  off  upon  the 
purple  mountains  or  the  rippling  sea,  that  you  are  fully 
master  of  the  situation.  "  Days  of  idleness,"  as  they  are 
called,  are  sometimes,  of  all  days,  at  once  the  busiest  and 
the  happiest,  when,  having  finished  up  all  regular  and 
routine  work,  and  thus  done  his  duty  as  a  traveller,  one 
devotes  himself  to  "  odds  and  ends,"  and  gathers  up  his 
varied  impressions  into  one  delightful  whole.  These  are 
delicious  moments,  when  the  pleasure  of  a  foreign  clime— 

"  Blest  be  the  time,  the  clime,  the  sijot !  " — 


FAREWELL    TO    GIBRALTAR.  129 

becomes  so  intense  that  we  are  reluctant  to  let  it  go,  and 
linger  still,  clinging  to  that  which  is  nearly  exhausted,  as 
if  we  would  drain  the  cup  to  the  very  last  drop. 

Such  is  the  feeling  that  comes  in  these  last  days,  as  I 
go  wandering  about,  full  of  moods  and  fancies  born  of 
the  place  and  the  hour.  There  is  a  strange  spell  and  fas- 
cination in  the  Kock  itself.  If  it  be  proper  ever  to  speak 
of  respect  for  inanimate  things,  next  to  a  great  mountain, 
I  have  a  profound  respect  for  a  great  rock.  It  is  the  em- 
blem of  strength  and  power,  which  by  its  very  height 
shelters  and  protects  the  feebleness  of  man.  How  often 
ou  the  desert,  under  the  burning  sun,  have  I  espied  afar 
oif  a  huge  cliff  rising  above  the  plain,  and  urging  on  my 
wearied  camel,  thrown  myself  from  it,  and  found  the  in- 
expressible relief  of  "the  shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a 
weary  land !  "  So  here  this  mountain  wall  that  rises 
above  me,  does  not  awe  and  overwhelm  so  much  as  it 
shelters  and  protects ;  the  higher  it  lifts  its  head,  the 
more  it  carries  me  upward,  and  gives  me  an  outlook 
over  a  wider  horizon.  If  I  were  a  dweller  in  Gibraltar, 
I  would  seek  out  every  sequestered  nook  upon  its  side, 
where  I  could  be  away  from  the  haunts  of  men,  and 
could  "  dream  dreams  and  see  visions."  Often  would  I 
climb  to  the  Signal  Station,  or  O'Hara's  Tower,  to  see 
the  glory  of  the  sunrisings  and  sunsettings  ;  and,  as  the 
evening  comes  on,  to  see  the  African  mountains  cast- 
ing their  shadows  over  the  broad  line  of  coast  and  the 
broader  sea. 
9 


130  GIBKALTAR. 

J^ext  to  tlie  Rock  itself,  the  oldest  thing  in  Gibraltar — 
the  very  oldest  that  man  has  made — is  the  Moorish  Cas- 
tle, on  which  the  Moslem  invader  planted  the  standard  of 
the  Crescent  near  twelve  centuries  ago,  making  this  his 
first  stronghold  in  the  land  which  he  was  to  conquer. 
And  now  I  must  look  upon  its  face  again,  because  of  its 
very  age.  American  as  I  am,  coming  from  a  country 
where  everything  is  supposed  to  be  "  brand  new,"  I  feel  a 
strange  delight  in  these  old  castles  and  towers,  and  even 
in  ruins,  gray  with  the  moss  of  centuries.  I  know  it  is  a 
"far  cry"  to  the  time  of  the  Moors,  but  we  must  not 
tliink  of  it  as  a  time  of  barbarism.  The  period  in  which 
the  Moors  held  Gibraltar  was  that  of  the  Moorish  rule  in 
Spain,  when  they  were  the  most  highly  civilized  people  in 
Europe,  and  the  Goths  were  the  barbarians.  In  that  day 
the  old  Moorish  town  must  have  been  a  very  picturesque 
place,  with  the  domes  of  its  mosques,  and  the  slender 
minarets  rising  above  them,  from  which  at  the  sunset 
hour  voices  called  the  faithful  to  prayer  ;  and  very  pic- 
turesque figures  were  those  of  the  turbaned  Moors,  as 
they  reverently  turned  toward  Mecca,  and  bowed  them- 
selves and  worshipped. 

IS'or  did  the  romance  die  when  the  Spaniards  folloM'ed 
in  the  procession  of  races,  for  they  were  only  less  pictu- 
resque than  the  Moors.  They  too  had  their  good  times. 
A  life  which  would  seem  tame  and  dull  to  the  modern 
Englishman  had  its  charms  for  the  children  of  the  sun, 
whether   they   were   children   of   Europe  or  of  Africa. 


FAREWELL    TO    GIBEALTAE.  131 

Wlien  the  clnirch  took  the  place  of  the  mosque,  mollahs 
and  ulemas  were  replaced  bj  priests  and  monks ;  and  the 
old  Franciscan  friars,  whose  Convent  is  now  the  residence 
of  the  Governor,  marched  in  sombre  procession  through 
the  streets,  and  instead  of  the  call  from  the  minaret,  the 
evening  was  made  holy  by  the  sound  of  the  Ave  Maria  or 
the  Angelus  bell.  And  these  Spaniards  had  their  gaye- 
ties  as  well  as  their  solemnities.  They  danced  as  well  as 
prayed.  When  their  prayers  were  ended,  the  same  dark- 
eyed  senoritas  who  had  knelt  in  the  churches  sat  on  bal- 
conies in  the  moonlight,  while  gallant  cavaliers  sang  their 
songs  and  tinkled  their  guitars — diversions  which  filled 
the  intervals  of  stern  and  savage  war.  Out  of  all  this 
strange  old  history,  with  many  a  heroic  episode  that  still 
lives  in  Spanish  song  and  story,  might  be  wrought,  if 
there  were  another  Irving  to  tell  the  tale,  an  historical  ro- 
mance as  fascinating  as  that  of  the  Conquest  of  Granada. 
The  materials  are  abundant ;  all  that  is  wanting  is  that 
they  be  touched  by  the  wand  of  the  enchanter. 

But  as  I  have  just  now  more  freshly  in  mind  the  Eng- 
lish history  of  Gibraltar,  I  leave  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Moors,  and  betake  me  to  the  King's  Bastion,  on  which 
"Old  Eliott"  stood  on  the  greatest  day  that  Gibraltar  ever 
saw.  And  here  we  must  not  forget  the  second  in  com- 
mand, his  brave  companion-in-arms,  General  Boyd,  who 
built  the  Bastion  in  1773,  and  who,  on  laying  the  first 
stone,  prayed  "that  he  might  live  to  see  it  resist  the 
united  fleets   of   France   and  Spain" — a    wish   that  was 


132  GIBRALTAE. 

glorioiislj  fulfilled  nine  years  later,  when  lie  took  part  in 
the  immortal  defence;  and  it  is  fitting  that  his  body 
should  sleep  under  his  own  work,  at  once  the  instrument 
and  the  monument  of  that  great  victory.  Even  the  trees 
have  a  historic  air,  as  they  are  old — at  least  many  of  them 
have  a  look  of  age.  One  would  think  that  the  constant 
firing  of  guns,  the  shock  and  "  sulphurous  canopy,"  would 
kill  vegetation  or  stunt  it  in  its  growth.  But  there  are 
many  fine  old  trees  in  Gibraltar.  Near  the  Alameda 
stands  a  magnificent  hella  sombra  (so  named  because  its 
wide-spreading  branches  are  dark  and  sombre,  and  yet 
strangely  beautiful),  which  must  be  very  old.  Perhaps  it 
was  standing  a  century  ago,  and  heard  all  the  guns  fired 
in  the  Great  Siege,  as  possibly  a  few  years  later  it  may 
have  heard,  across  the  bay  and  away  over  the  Spanish 
hills,  even  the  thunder  of  Nelson  at  Trafalgar. 

On  one  of  the  last  days  I  had  engaged  to  take  a  midday 
dinner  with  the  pastor  of  the  Scotch  Church,  who  lives  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  town.  It  is  a  pleasant  walk  be- 
yond the  Alameda  over  the  hill,  where  you  can  but  stop 
now  and  then  to  look  down  on  the  long  breakwater  of  the 
New  Mole,  or  into  the  quiet  dock  of  Rosia  Bay  ;  or  to 
hear  the  bugles  waken  the  echoes  of  the  hills.  After 
dinner  my  friend  proposed  a  stroll,  in  Nvliich  I  was  glad 
to  join  him,  especially  as  it  took  me  to  new  points  of 
view,  from  which  I  could  look  up  at  the  Rock  on  its 
southern  side,  as  I  had  already  seen  it  on  the  north. 
Taking   our   way   across   the   level  plateau  of  Windmill 


WINDMILL    HILL    AND    O'HARA'S   TOWER. 


FAEEWELL    TO    GIBRALTAE.  133 

Hill,  past  barracki?  and  hospitals  that  are  here  somewhat 
retired  from  the  shore,  we  descended  toward  the  sea. 

This  end  of  Gibraltar  is  a  great  resort  of  the  people  in 
the  summer  time,  and  fm-nishes  the  only  drive,  unless 
they  go  out  of  the  gates  and  crossing  the  Neutral  Ground 
enter  the  Spanislx  lines.  Here  they  are  wholly  w^ithin 
the  Peninsula,  and  yet  in  a  space  so  limited  is  a  drive 
such  as  one  might  find  along  the  Kiviera.  The  road  is 
beautifully  kept,  and  winds  in  and  out  among  the  rocks, 
in  one  place  crossing  a  deep  gorge,  which  makes  you 
almost  dizzy  as  you  look  over  the  parapet  of  the  little 
bridge  which  spans  it.  At  each  turn  you  get  some  new 
glimpse  of  the  sea,  and  whenever  you  raise  your  eyes  to 
look  across  the  fetrait,  there  is  the  long  line  of  the  Afri- 
can Coast.  This  is  the  favorite  drive  of  officers  and  la- 
dies on  summer  afternoons,  since  here  they  can  escape 
the  blistering  sun,  and  get  into  the  cool  shadows. 

As  we  come  to  Europa  Point  we  are  at  the  very  foot 
of  the  Rock,  and  must  stop  to  look  upward ;  for  above 
us  rises  the  highest  point  of  Gibraltar,  O'Hara's  Tower, 
which,  as  it  is  also  nearest  to  the  sea,  is  the  one  that  first 
catches  the  eye  of  the  mariner  sailing  up  or  down  the 
Mediterranean.  Here  the  old  Phoenicians  sacrificed  to 
Hercules,  as  they  were  approaching  what  was  to  them 
the  end  of  the  habitable  globe  ;  and  here,  in  later  ages,  a 
lamp  was  always  hung  before  the  shrine  of  the  Yirgin, 
and  the  devout  sailor  crossed  himself  and  repeated  his 
Ave  Maria  as  he  floated  by. 


134  GIBRALTAR. 

Winding  round  Europa  Point,  we  found  our  progress, 
barred  by  an  iron  gateway ;  but  rattling  at  the  gate 
brought  a  sentinel,  who,  seeing  nothing  suspicious  in  our 
appearance,  allowed  us  to  enter  the  guarded  enclosure. 
Here  in  this  quiet  spot,  on  a  shelf  of  rock  which  hangs 
above  the  road,  and  is  itself  overhung  by  the  mighty  clift 
which  rises  behind  it  and  above  it,  is  the  cottage  which 
is  the  Governor's  summer  retreat.  The  Convent  answers 
very  well  for  a  winter  residence  ;  but  in  summer  Gib- 
raltar is  a  very  hot  place,  as  it  lias  the  reflection  of  the 
sun  both  from  the  sea  in  front  and  the  Rock  behind  ;  and 
the  Convent,  standing  on  the  shore  of  the  bay,  gets  the 
full  force  of  both.  But  there  are  cool  retreats  both  north 
and  south.  On  the  north  the  townsfolk  pour  out  of  the 
gates  to  get  under  the  giant  cliff  which  casts  its  mighty 
shadow  across  the  I^eutral  Ground.  A  little  farther  to 
the  east,  they  come  to  the  sands  of  a  beach,  which  seems 
so  like  a  watering-place  in  dear  Old  England  that  they 
have  christened  it  Margate.  So  also,  turning  the  corner 
at  the  south  end  of  the  Eock,  one  is  sheltered  from  the 
heat  in  the  long  summer  afternoon.  The  cottage  is  with- 
out any  pretension  to  ornament ;  but  as  it  has  a  some- 
what elevated  perch,  like  a  Swiss  chalet,  it  is  a  sort  of 
eyrie,  in  which  one  can  look  down  upon  the  sea  and  catch 
every  wind  that  comes  from  the  Mediterranean. 

Just  now  this  little  eyrie  was  turned  to  another  purpose 
— as  a  place  of  confinement  for  Zebelir  Pasha,  a  name 
that  brings  back  memories  of  Egypt.     An  Arab  «heikh, 


FAEEWELL    TO    GIBRALTAK.  135 

at  the  liead  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  tribes  on  the 
Upper  Xile,  he  was  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
famous  slave-hunters  of  Africa.  And  yet  such  was  his 
influence  in  the  Soudan,  that  he  was  the  one  man  to 
whom  Gordon  turned  in  his  isolation  at  Khartoum,  when 
neither  England  nor  Egypt  came  to  the  rescue ;  and  his 
one  message  to  the  authorities  at  Cairo  was :  "  Send  me 
Zebelir  Pasha  !  "  The  request  was  refused,  and  we  know 
the  rest.  Had  it  been  granted,  the  result  might  have 
been  different.  But  the  British  Government  seemed  to 
have  a  great  fear  of  letting  him  return  to  the  scene  of  his 
old  exploits  lest  he  should  turn  against  them,  and  after 
the  English  occupation  of  Egypt,  had  him  remanded  for 
safe-keeping  to  Gibraltar.  His  detention  is  made  as  lit- 
tle irksome  as  possible.  He  is  not  confined  in  a  prison. 
He  is  even  the  occupant  of  the  Governor's  cottage,  and 
has  his  family  with  him.  Looking  up  at  the  windows,  I 
saw  dark  faces  (perhaps  those  of  his  wives),  that  moved 
away  as  soon  as  they  were  observed.  But  to  be  comfort- 
ably housed  is  nothing  without  liberty.  To  the  lion  in 
captivity  it  matters  little  whether  he  is  in  a  barred  cage, 
or  has  the  most  luxurious  quarters  in  a  Royal  Zoological 
Garden.  Zebehr  Pasha  is  a  lion  of  the  desert  that  has 
never  been  tamed.  How  he  must  chafe  at  the  gilded 
bars  of  his  prison,  and  look  out  wistfully  upon  the  blue 
waves  that  separate  him  from  his  beloved  Africa  !  He 
envies  the  eagles  that  lie  sees  soaring  and  screaming  over 
the  sea.     If  they  would  but  lend  him  their  wings,  he 


136  GIBRALTAPw 

would  "  homeward  fly,"  and  mounting  the  swiftest  drome- 
dary, taste  once  more  the  wild  freedom  of  the  desert.* 

But  all  things  must  have  an  end,  and  my  stay  in  Gib- 
raltar, delightful  as  it  was,  must  be  brought  to  a  close.  I 
was  not  eager  to  depart.  So  quickly  does  one  become 
at  home  in  new  surroundings,  that  a  place  which  I  never 
saw  till  a  few  days  before,  now  seemed  like  an  old 
friend.  My  new  acquaintances  said  I  "  ought  to  stay  a 
month  at  least,"  and  I  was  sure  that  it  would  pass  quickly 
and  delightfully.  But  travellers,  like  city  tramps,  nnist 
"  move  on,"  and  it  is  certainly  better  to  go  regretting  and 
regretted,  than  to  carry  away  only  disagreeable  memories. 
I  had  taken  passage  for  Oran  on  the  Barbary  Coast,  when 
the  Colonial  Secretary,  kind  to  the  last,  proposed  to  send 
me  off  to  the  ship  in  a  government  launch,  an  offer  which 
my  modesty  compelled  me  to  decline.  But  he  insisted 
(for  these  Englishmen,  when  they  do  a  thing,  must  do  it 


*  A  few  months  after  I  left  Gibraltar,  the  old  Arab  was  set  at  liberty  by 
the  British  Government,  but  on  very  strict  conditions.  A  letter  from  the 
American  Consul,  in  reply  to  my  questions,  says  : 

"Zebehr  Pasha  was  released  August  3,  1887,  on  signing  a  certain  docu- 
ment sent  from  the  Home  Government  relative  to  his  future  conduct.  This 
was  an  engagement  '  to  remain  in  the  place  which  should  be  chosen  by  the 
Egj'ptian  Government ;  to  place  himself  under  its  surveillance ;  and  to  ab- 
stain from  interference  in  political  or  military  questions  relating  to  the  Sou- 
dan or  otherwise.'  This  he  signed  in  the  presence  of  two  British  staff  officers. 
He  had  arrived  in  Gibraltar  in  March,  1885,  and  from  that  time  had  been  % 
prisoner  in  the  Governor's  cottage  for  about  two  years  and  a  half,  undei 
charge  at  different  times  of  several  officers  of  the  garrison.  He  left  Gibraltar 
August  16th,  for  Port  Said,  accompanied  by  his  household,  which  included 
two  v/omen  and  three  men,  and  was  attended  by  three  male  and  two  female 
servants.  He  also  took  back  to  his  African  home  an  infant  born  in  tha 
Governor's  cottage  at  Europa." 


FAREWELL    TO    GIBRALTAR.  137 

handsomely)  till  I  had  to  submit.  That  evening,  while 
dining  at  the  Hotel,  a  servant  bronght  me  word  that  a 
messenger  had  a  special  message  for  me,  and  when  I  pre- 
sented myself,  he  put  into  my  hands  the  following: 

'■'■  Memorandum  from  the  Colonial  Secretary 

to  the  Captain  of  the  Port. 

"Dr.  Field,  an  American  gentleman,  introduced  here  by  Sir 
Clare  Ford,  is  now  staying  at  theEoyal  Hotel,  and  leaving  Friday 
evening  by  the  steamer  for  Algiers. 

"  His  Excellency  wishes  every  attention  to  be  shown  him :  so 
yon  will  send  a  Boarding  Officer  to-morrow  at  6  p.  M.,  and  ask  him 
at  what  hoiir  he  desires  to  leave  from  Waterport,  and  have  a  launch 
ready  for  him  :  the  Boarding  Officer  making  all  arrangements  for 
Dr.  Field  and  his  friends  passing  through  the  gates. 

GiPFOED." 

On  the  back  of  the  above  order  was  written  in  red  ink, 
in  very  large  letters  : 

"  BoABDiNG  Officer  :   Comply  with  His  Excellency's  'wishes, 

"G.  B.  Bassadone, 
"  For  the  Captain  of  the  Port." 

This  was  the  tirst  time  in  my  life  that  I  had  been 
waited  upon  for  orders !  Having  this  greatness  thrust 
upon  me,  I  did  not  betray  my  unfamiliarity  with  such 
things  by  any  light  and  trivial  conduct,  but  kept  my  dignity 
with  a  sober  face,  and  graciously  announced  my  sovereign 
pleasure  to  depai-t  the  following  evening  at  eight  o'clock. 
This  was  really  a  great  convenience,  as  it  gave  me  a  few 
hours  more  on  shore,  whereas  otherwise  I  must  leave  be- 


138  .  GIBr.ALTAR. 

fore  sunset,  when  tlie  gates  are  slint,  not  to  be  opened  till 
morning.     Appreciating  not  only  tlio   courtesy,  but  the 
distinction,  I  invited  an  American  party  at  the  Hotel  to 
keep  me  company.     But  the}'  had  already  made  their  ar- 
rangements, and  went  off  ingloriously  before  "gun-fire"  ; 
while  His  Republican  Highness  took  his  dinner  quietly, 
and  awaited  the  coming  of  his  escort.     One  young  lady, 
however,  (a  cousin  of  Mr,  Joseph  II.  Choate,  of  New  York, 
my  friend  and  neighbor  at  our  summer  homes   in  the 
Berkshire  Hills,)  stood  by  me,  and  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
evening  we  walked  down  Waterport  Street,  attended  by 
two  stalwart  defenders.     The  street  was  strangely  silent, 
for  as  the  outsiders  leave  at  sunset  when  the  gates  are 
closed,  the  town  is  very  quiet.     It  was  dark  as  we  ap- 
proached the  first  gate,  which  had  been  shut  hours  be- 
fore;  but  the  guard,  having  "received  orders,"  instantly 
appeared  to  unlock  it,  a  form  wiiich  was  repeated  at  the 
second  line  of  fortifications.     At  the  quay  we  found  the 
launch  ready,  with  steam  up,  and  as  we  took  our  places 
in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  on  the  cushioned  seat  provided 
for  distinguished  guests,  I  felt  as  if  I  were  a  Lord  High 
Admiral.     It  was  a  beautiful  night.     The  moon  was  up, 
though  half  hidden  by  clouds,  from  which  now  and  then 
she  burst  forth,  covering  the  bay  with  a  flood  of  liglit. 
xVt  that  moment — stern  Puritan  as  I  am,  and  impassible 
as  my  friends  know  me  to  be — if  I  had  been  put  upon 
my  oath,  or  my  honor,  I  should  have  been  compelled  to 
confess,  that  to  be  floating  over  a  moonlit  sea,  with  a  fair 


ji;i3»;3|:iiii;Slf'fitiiS',ilpi::J3SBI«£ 


FAREWELL    TO    GIBEALTAE.  139 

countrywoman  at  my  side,  was  not  altogether  the  most 
miserable  position  in  which  I  have  ever  been  placed  in  my 
wanderings  up  and  down  in  this  world. 

Once  on  the  deck,  the  whole  broadside  of  the  Rock  was 
before  us,  with  the  lights  glimmering  far  up  and  down 
the  heights.  At  half -past  nine  the  last  gun  was  fired, 
and  in  another  half  hour  the  lights  in  the  barracks  were 
put  out,  and  all  was  dark  and  still. 

It  was  midnight  when  the  steamer  began  to  move. 
The  moon  had  now  flung  off  her  misty  veil,  and  risen  to 
the  zenith,  where  she  hung  over  the  very  crest  of  the 
Rock,  her  soft  light  falling  on  every  projecting  crag.  The 
ship  itself  seemed  to  feel  the  holy  stillness  of  the  night, 
and  glided  like  a  phantom-ship,  almost  without  a  sound, 
over  the  unruffled  sea.  As  we  crept  past  the  long  line  of 
batteries,  the  great  Fortress,  with  its  hundreds  of  guns, 
was  silent ;  the  Lion  was  sleeping.  Math  all  his  thunders 
muffled  in  his  rocky  breast.  Thus  our  last  glimpse  of 
Gibraltar  was  a  vision  not  of  War,  but  of  Peace,  as  we 
rounded  Europa  Point  and  set  our  faces  toward  Africa. 


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